It has been suggested that overscheduling of upper-class youth might underlie the high distress and substance use documented among them. This assumption was tested by considering suburban 8th graders' involvement in different activities along with their perceptions of parental attitudes toward achievement. Results indicated negligible evidence for…

The authors examined the relations between participation in a range of high school extracurricular contexts and developmental outcomes in adolescence and young adulthood among an economically diverse sample of African American and European American youths. In general, when some prior self-selection factors were controlled, 11th graders'…

THIS STUDY PREDICTED STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT IN COLLEGE AFTER COMPREHENSIVE ASSESSMENT OF STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT AND POTENTIAL IN HIGH SCHOOL. THE STUDENT SAMPLE OF 2,792 SOPHOMORES AND 1,095 FRESHMEN WAS OBTAINED FROM A FOLLOW-UP OF STUDENTS WHO PARTICIPATED IN THE AMERICAN COLLEGE SURVEY IN 1964 AND 1965, AND WHO HAD TAKEN THE AMERICAN COLLEGE TESTING…

This literature review is specifically interested in empirical research addressing the relationship between adolescent participation in extracurricular activities and adult political engagement. Relevant research is found in political science, psychology, education and sociology. In order to capture the literature most directly related to the main…

Examines the relationship between student participation in structured activities and academic success at school; discusses the use of computers in schools; and describes a study that investigated 220 students in 3 high schools to determine relationships between participation in structured activities and successful computer use in school. (Contains…

Studies in New Jersey and California suggest that smaller schools or school districts produce higher aggregate achievement than larger schools or districts, especially in low socioeconomic status (SES) communities. Other studies have found that smaller schools have higher rates of student participation in extracurricular activities, and that…

In this study, the relationship between mental training with biofeedback and performance was investigated. An adapted version of the Wingate five-step approach was used as a mental preparation technique for enhancing the short-running performance among 16-18-year-old adolescent physical education pupils. Participants (n = 79) were randomly…

T. Hirschi's (1969, "Causes of Delinquency." University of California Press, Berkeley, CA) control theory proposes that involvement, as an element of the social bond, should reduce delinquency. But, research studies have found that the effect of involvement is rather weak. This study reformulates Hirschi's involvement hypothesis by…

The purpose of this study was to examine how extracurricular activities relate to rural youth violence. Gender differences were examined across all of the study variables. Self-report data were collected from 235 teenagers from a rural, ethnically diverse, Virginia community. Correlations revealed a significant inverse relationship between church…

The deleterious effects of early substance use have been well documented. Past research has produced mixed results regarding the extent to which the profile of risk differs for urban African American and suburban Caucasian youth. Sixth graders from urban (n = 420; 92% African American) and suburban (n = 391; 89% Caucasian) schools in metropolitan…

A study among white college undergraduates investigated the kinds of activities that promote interracial contact, and the extent to which interracial contact in high school determines interracial contact in college. Results indicated that school sponsored activities both in high school and at the university level encourage contact between students…

Participation in school activities is hypothesized to be a determiner of the measured abilities and interests of high school students. The Ball Aptitude Battery (yielding 14 ability scores), Holland's (1970) self directed search interest inventory, and a biographical information blank (to obtain information about participation in 53…

This study extends previous understanding of the association between adolescent extracurricular activity participation and adjustment by asking whether participation in school-based extracurricular activities is associated with lower substance use and depression, higher grades and academic aspirations, and more positive attitude toward school. In…

If teenagers do not find support at school, home, or in the community, then they will find it with peers, gangs, or other means. Subsequently, the importance of extra-curricular involvement for at-risk youth is reported in this paper; to what extent this involvement had potential to influence performance in academics is also examined. Involvement…

A series of initiatives over the last fifteen years have helped forge today's consensus on the need to clarify and clearly communicate standards of behavior (National Skills Standards Board (NSSB), 1996). These initiatives have generated considerable discourse and subsequent research dealing with morals and ethics. This study focuses on academic,…