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Article Excerpt
Youth out-of-school time (OST) programs and activities can provide developmental benefits for participating youth. Yet little research has examined the contextual predictors of youth OST participation. To address this issue, we examined a collection of child-, family-, school-, and neighborhood-level characteristics as predictors of OST participation using data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics--Child Development Supplement. In summary, child and family characteristics were most useful in predicting participation such that children least likely to participate were those characterized by high levels of developmental (e.g., low achievement, behavior problems, poor health) and family (e.g., parent psychological distress and low emotional support) problems. These relations, however, emerged only during middle school and high school. For certain types of activities, namely athletics and lessons, problems measured across various contexts were more strongly associated with OST participation for higher-income families than for lower-income families. These findings point to the importance of considering multiple developmental domains and developmental periods in understanding predictors of youth OST participation.
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There has been a surge of interest among policymakers, practitioners, and researchers in the impact of youth's participation in out-of-school time (OST) programs and activities (Mahoney, Harris, & Eccles, 2006). OST programs include after-school programs with a defined structure, boundaries, and goals, whereas OST activities include athletics, lessons, and extracurricular activities that may or may not take place within the context of a defined program. High-quality, organized OST programs and activities have the potential to support and promote youth development because they (a) situate youths in safe environments; (b) prevent youths from engaging in delinquent activities; (c) teach youths general and specific skills, beliefs, and behaviors; and (d) provide opportunities for youths to develop relationships with peers and mentors (Eccles & Gootman, 2002). Little research, however, has investigated what factors beyond demographic characteristics are associated with youths' OST participation. This study begins to fill this gap by examining whether greater numbers of risks at the child, family, school, and neighborhood levels predict youths' OST participation in programs and activities.
A recent report by the National Academy of Sciences revealed that participation in OST activities is predictive of academic success as measured through test scores, absenteeism, school dropout rates, homework completion, school grades, and course enrollment (e.g., Barber, Eccles, & Stone, 2001; Bartko & Eccles, 2003; Cooper, Valentine, Nye, & Lindsay, 1999; Mahoney & Cairns, 1997; Posner & Vandell, 1994, 1999). Participation in OST programs and activities is also related to multiple indicators of positive social development, including more prosocial and less aggressive behavior with peers and close friends as well as lower levels of depressive symptoms and behavior problems (e.g., Eccles & Templeton, 2002; Petit, Laird, Bates, & Dodge, 1997; Simpkins, Fredricks, Davis-Kean, & Eccles, 2006; Vandell & Shumow, 1999). Importantly, the developmental benefits of OST participation appear greatest for youths at risk for poor developmental outcomes such that OST participation serves a protective function for these youths (Mahoney, 2000; Marsh & Kleitman, 2002; Roeser & Peck, 2003).
It is likely that both individual and contextual factors predict participation for youths. The notion that individuals affect and are affected by their physical and psychosocial surroundings was first offered by Bronfenbrenner's (1979) ecological systems model and was later extended to emphasize the vital reciprocal influence between individuals and contexts (Sameroff & Chandler, 1975; Sameroff, 1983). OST programs and activities are one such developmental context shaping and being shaped by youths (Mahoney, Larson, & Eccles, 2005; Posner & Vandell, 1999). For instance, although poor children are less likely to participate in after-school programs for a variety of contextual or individual reasons, they may also benefit more from such participation due to the relative dearth of other enriching opportunities in their families, schools, and communities (Mahoney, Lord, & Carryl, 2005).
Youths' participation in OST programs and activities is likely to result from a complex set of factors including availability, parents and programs functioning as gatekeepers, and youth interest. In other words, OST selection factors function at the individual and program levels as well as at the family, school, and neighborhood levels. That is, the propensity to enroll in OST programs or activities and the resultant outcomes may be shaped by individual (child-level) factors and features of the multiple overlapping contexts that youths experience in their families, schools, and neighborhoods. Operating within a developmental systems framework (Sameroff, Bartko, Baldwin, Baldwin, & Seifer, 1998), we examine these selection processes in the present study with a focus on developmental risks present at the individual child level and the family, school, and neighborhood levels.
Developmental Risk and OST Participation: Child, Family, School, and Neighborhood Factors
Previous research has defined risk factors as behaviors or actions that can compromise various aspects of youths' successful functioning during a particular developmental period (Perkins & Borden, 2003). Researchers generally concur that risk is a multivariate construct and that developmental outcomes are usually predicted by the number of risk factors rather than particular discrete factors, with children at greater risk as the number of risk factors increases (e.g., Sameroff et al., 1998). In other words, children vary in terms of the specific factors and combination of factors that place them at risk for poor outcomes. Two children can have dramatically different risk factors but have the same poor outcomes. Unfavorable outcomes are thought to be exacerbated by exposure to multiple risk factors (Sameroff et al., 1998), although this does not rule out the possibility that there may be thresholds of numbers of risk factors that may be critical or particular constellations of risks that are particularly detrimental to youths. In line with this perspective, the central question addressed in the current analysis is: How do risk factors, at the child, family, school, and neighborhood levels, predict youths' OST participation in a variety of OST activities and programs?
Child risk factors. Youths with lower academic, behavioral, and physical adjustment may be less likely to become involved in OST programs and activities. For instance, researchers have found that academic indicators are powerful, positive predictors of children's participation (Jordan & Nettles, 2000; Marsh & Kleitman, 2002). Children's poor adjustment may have direct ramifications on participation if children cannot satisfy the grade or other requirements set by the programs and activities. In addition, children with poor adjustment may not participate in OST programs or activities due to difficulties engaging in a group context, fear of peer rejection, or lack of encouragement or active discouragement by program staff. Despite their potential importance, these barriers have received little empirical attention. We expect that as the number of child psychosocial, academic, and physical difficulties increase, the likelihood of youths' participation in organized OST settings will decrease. Developmental difficulties may be more important during adolescence than childhood for two reasons. First, program and activity barriers in addition to entry requirements may increase with age (e.g., competition to participate in sports activities typically increases with age). Such declines in access may translate into decreased participation of youths with greater numbers of problems because they may possess fewer of the requisite skills and may be less likely to be encouraged to participate. Second, because increases in autonomy and decision making suggest that adolescents are the primary decision makers about how they spend their nonschool hours (Gauvain & Perez, 2005), adolescents with more problems may be more likely than their peers to opt out of OST activities.
Family risk factors. Parents play a significant role in children's development through many avenues (Furstenberg et al., 1999; Parke & Buriel, 1998). For example, parents provide developmental opportunities by choosing schools, providing books in the home, and being involved in children's schools (Lareau, 1989). Research increasingly shows that parents also use community-based activities as part of a compilation of strategies to support their children's success (Dearing, McCartney, Weiss, Kreider, & Simpkins, 2004; Weiss et al., 2003). Stable, engaged, and supportive families headed by efficacious parents are more likely to be able to engage youths in constructive use of their nonschool time (Larson, Dworkin, & Gillman, 2001; Ardelt & Eccles, 2001). Research also suggests that these parenting behaviors as well as youth outcomes are influenced by parents' psychological, financial, and social resources (McLoyd, 1998). As such, families with greater challenges or disadvantages, such as parents who are less engaged and have fewer resources, may be less likely to have youths involved in OST programs and activities.
School risk factors. Given that many OST activities occur within the context of children's schools, examining school-level determinants of youth participation in OST extracurricular activities is of prime importance. Schools with high concentrations of poor and minority students are in worse states of disrepair with more inhospitable and inadequate facilities (US General Accounting Office, 1996) and also offer more in-school academic and less enrichment-focused content, a pattern that may extend to schools' OST offerings (Roth, Brooks-Gunn, Linver, & Hofferth, 2003). Similarly, researchers have found that larger schools and schools with high pupil-teacher ratios have lower rates of student participation in community and extracurricular activities (Jordan & Nettles, 2000; Lindsay, 1984; Marsh & Kleitman, 2002). This relationship is likely due to the fact that there are typically a maximum number of slots available in youth activities such that in smaller schools, there is a larger percentage of the overall student body who can participate (Barker & Gump, 1964; Quiroz, 2000). Research also shows that students in disadvantaged urban schools perceive more daily hassles at school and that these negative feelings decrease school engagement (Seidman, Aber, Allen, & French, 1996). It is likely that greater numbers of such school-level risks could result in lower activity participation.
Neighborhood risk factors. Neighborhood characteristics are also likely to be key determinants of activity participation. Neighborhood indicators, such as disadvantage, may impact participation because activities are unavailable or because parents limit youths' participation (Leventhal & Brooks-Gunn, 2000; Jarrett & Jefferson, 2003). Neighborhood...
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