NCJ Number
218631
Journal
Journal of Youth and Adolescence Volume: 36 Issue: 4 Dated: May 2007 Pages: 391-401
Date Published
May 2007
Length
11 pages
Annotation
This study explored the impact of out-of-school activities on the school engagement of African-American adolescents.
Abstract
Results indicated that time spent doing homework and time spent in extracurricular activities were positively associated with aspects of school engagement for African-American adolescents. In particular, boys who spent more time on homework had higher levels of school bonding. Time spent watching television was negatively related to school engagement while time spent in out-of-school activities was positively related to school self-esteem and school bonding, but not to school grades. The findings suggest the importance of structured extracurricular activities for strengthening school engagement among African-American students, particularly school self-esteem and school bonding. Future research should investigate whether involvement in activities that facilitate school engagement can buffer the academic declines experienced during the junior high transition. Participants were 140, 6th through 9th grade African-American adolescents and their family members who were recruited from 2 large eastern cities using flyers and mailed letters asking for voluntary participation. Home interviews were conducted with mothers, fathers, and children separately regarding their personal qualities and family relationships. The home interviews were followed by a series of seven evening telephone interviews with each participant. The adolescent participants were asked how frequently they participated in specific free-time activities, household tasks, and personal activities during the course of their day. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and regression models. Tables, figure, references