Engagement in school and community civic activities among rural adolescents.
Involvement in civic and community activities is a core part of positive youth development. Adolescents involved in voluntary civic activities have greater academic engagement, enhanced well-being, less involvement in problem behaviors, and they are more likely to value connections to their community than those who are not involved. The current research examined involvement in school and community civic activities as well as religious youth groups among 8th and 9th graders (N = 679, 61.7% female, 85.9% White) from small, rural schools in the Midwest U.S. and linked involvement to religiosity, well-being, problem behavior, academic engagement, and perceptions of parents and peers. Half of the adolescents in the sample reported involvement in civic activities or, more commonly, in religious youth groups. Adolescents who participated in religious youth groups reported more extracurriculars, less problem behavior, higher grades and motivation, and more support from parents and friends than adolescents who did not. The most frequently reported school civic activities were student council and Future Farmers of America, and 4-H was the most popular community civic activity. Those who were involved in school- and community-based civic activities reported more religiosity, academic engagement, and positive perceptions of parents and peers than uninvolved youth. The results support and extend research on rural youth by documenting civic activities across contexts and examining how involvement is associated with positive youth development.
Ludden
Alison Bryant
AB
Psychology Department, College of the Holy Cross, 1 College Street, Worcester, MA 01602, USA. aludden@holycross.edu
D000293:Adolescent; D041923:Adolescent Development; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D004521:Educational Measurement; D005260:Female; D033062:Friends; D006126:Group Processes; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008019:Life Style; D008297:Male; D008385:Marijuana Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D010379:Peer Group; D012067:Religion; D012111:Residence Characteristics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012424:Rural Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012574:Schools / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012919:Social Behavior
Am J Community Psychol. 1983 Feb;11(1):1-24
6837532
Dev Psychol. 2006 Jul;42(4):698-713
16802902
Dev Psychol. 2006 Nov;42(6):1313-26
17087563
Dev Psychol. 2009 Mar;45(2):354-67
19271824
J Behav Med. 2002 Oct;25(5):425-38
12442559
Am Psychol. 2000 Jan;55(1):170-83
11392861
J Adolesc. 2006 Apr;29(2):289-98
16125766
Dev Psychol. 2008 Jul;44(4):1081-94
18605836
Dev Psychopathol. 2004 Fall;16(4):1119-40
15704830