Psychological and Behavioral Characteristics Moderating Longitudinal Associations Between Out-of-School Experiences and Youth Outcomes

• In Event: 49.070 - Focus on Outcomes: Evaluating Out-of-School Time Settings

Abstract

Organized activity participation is associated positively with school-related functioning and negatively with a range of risk-taking outcomes, but it remains unclear who benefits most from activity participation. To address this issue, we use a sample of middle school youth (N = 695) to examine two psychological and behavioral youth characteristics, defiance and college expectations, as moderators of the relation between activity participation and changes in youth functioning over two years. Multiple regression results are consistent with a compensatory hypothesis, such that the largest gains from participation are seen among youth who are highly defiant or have low college expectations. Future organized activity research should account for the moderating role of psychological and behavioral youth characteristics in organized activity outcomes.

Authors

• Sabrina Kataoka, University of California - Irvine

• Deborah L. Vandell, University of California - Irvine