Measuring psychological engagement in youth activity involvement☆

Abstract

Although psychological engagement (e.g., enjoyment, concentration) may be critical in fostering positive outcomes of youth activity participation, too few studies have been conducted to establish its role in development. Furthermore, an established measurement tool is lacking. In the current study, we evaluated a brief engagement measure with two Canadian samples of youth (Sample 1, N = 290, mean age = 16.9 years, 62% female; Sample 2, N = 1827, mean age = 13.1 years, 54% female). We conducted a confirmatory factor analysis with structural equation modeling to examine the hypothesized structure of the model. We also assessed the measure's validity by testing relations between engagement and both perceived outcomes and positive features of activity settings. Psychological engagement was best captured by three latent cognitive, affective, and relational/spiritual factors and a second‐order latent factor. Also, as anticipated, psychological engagement was associated with features of the activity setting and perceived impact.

Towards the Promotion of Positive Development among Boys in Challenging Contexts: A Mixed-Methods Study of Engagement in the Scoutreach Initiative

“…Quantitative data suggested nuanced relations among dimensions of engagement and character attributes. These results also aligned with prior research linking dimensions of youth engagement and involvement in programs to indicators of positive development (Ramey et al, 2015;Tiffany et al, 2012).…”

Understanding students’ engagement in MOOCs: An integration of self‐determination theory and theory of relationship quality

“…Behavioral engagement mainly involves students' participation in class activities and academic-relevant activities, which is considered to be essential to prevent dropout (Fredricks, Blumenfeld, & Paris, 2004). Psychological engagement can be seen as a result of interaction in emotion and cognition, and it stresses students' affective reactions toward class and the psychological investment in learning (Glanville & Wildhagen, 2007;Marks, 2000;Ramey et al, 2015).…”

Motivations for Activity Participation as Predictors of Emerging Adults' Psychological Engagement in Leisure Activities

“…Psychological engagement in the activity was assessed with a 3-item affective subscale and two 2-item cognitive and relational/spiritual subscales (adapted from Busseri & Rose-Krasnor, 2008; see also Lawford &Ramey, Rose-Krasnor, Busseri, Gadbois, Bowker, &Findlay, 2015). After identifying their most engaging activity, participants rated the extent to which it was enjoyable (enjoyment) and of personal importance (importance), and to what extent they were committed (commitment), focused (focus), interested (interest), connected to others (relationships), and connected to something greater than the self (connection) within the activity.…”