Participation in Boys and Girls Clubs and relationships to youth outcomes

Abstract

Ⅲ Participation is a key issue in youth development organizations. In fact, research suggests that youths who attend the programs offered by these agencies will experience numerous benefits. One such youth development organization is the Boys and Girls Clubs of America (BGCA). A R T I C L E JOURNAL OF COMMUNITY PSYCHOLOGY, Vol. 31, No. 1, 39-55 (2003) © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI: 10.1002/jcop.10036 Youth development programs provide important contexts for promoting the positive, healthy development of young people. There are 17,000 youth development organizations, both public and private, active in the United States in the 1990s~Quinn, 1999!. Participation in the programs offered by these agencies is associated with positive outcomes for youths. For instance, involvement in high quality after-school programs, as well as in other extracurricular activities, is related to improved school attendance and performance, more involvement with adults, better peer relations, and enhanced prosocial behaviors~Huang, Gribbons, Kim, Lee, & Baker, 2000;Posner, & Vandell, 1994;Riley, Steinberg, Todd, Junge, & McClain, 1994;Schinke, Cole, & Poulin, 2000; U.S. Department of Education, 2000!. As well, participation is linked with lower incidences of problem behaviors such as decreased academic failure, substance use, and delinquency~Anderson- Butcher, 2000;Holland & Andre, 1987;Larson, 1994;Mahoney & Cairns, 1997;Posner & Vandell, 1994;Riley et al., 1994;Schinke, Orlandi, & Cole, 1992!. Participation is a key issue in youth development programming~Quinn, 1999!. Simply put, if youth do not attend, they will not experience the positive benefits these programs are known to provide. Many challenges to participation exist. For instance, youths' involvement in these programs is typically voluntary, and youths indicate their satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the activities by "voting with their feet." The desired outcomes of these programs require long-term participation and youths must attend with sufficient frequency and duration. Maintaining this involvement over time is especially challenging among adolescents, as participation tends to decline as youths age~Gould, 1987; Quinn, 1999!. Additionally, the way in which youths participate is important, that is, especially in programs offering a variety of activities and programs. To highlight, youths may engage in structured, outcomes-based prevention and educational programs, or may participate in less structured, drop-in recreational based activities. Because of these challenges, it is important for youth development organizations to understand the various factors associated with participation and the outcomes associated with the involvement in the various types of programs offered. BOYS AND GIRLS CLUBSMany researchers have discussed the importance of participation in activities offered at the Boys and Girls Clubs of America~BGCA!. The BGCA is a community-based nonprofit organization that seeks to improve...

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