Abstract:
This study examined associations between participation in voluntary out-of-school
programs (e.g., scouting, Boys' and Girls' Clubs, 4-H, YMCA/YWCA) in adolescence
and four negative outcomes: school dropout, early sexual activity, delinquency, and drug
use. A prospective longitudinal design had collected four waves of interview data on a
national sample of 15,000 individuals beginning at age 14 and ending at age 20 (National
Educational Longitudinal Study). The analysis found that overall participation through
childhood and adolescence was linked to substantially lower levels of all four negative
outcomes. However, the associations depended on the developmental timing of the
participation and the ecological location of the program.
