title: Developmental experiences during extracurricular activities and Australian adolescents' self-concept: particularly important for youth from disadvantaged schools.
abstract: Extracurricular activities provide adolescents with a number of positive personal and interpersonal developmental experiences. This study investigated whether developmental experiences that occurred during extracurricular activities were linked to a more positive self-concept for Australian adolescents, and whether this link was particularly salient for youth from disadvantaged schools. Adolescents (N = 1,504, 56% Female) from 26 diverse high schools across Western Australia were surveyed. The findings revealed that adolescents from low socio-economic status schools who participated in extracurricular activities had a more positive general self-worth and social self-concept than adolescents from similar socio-economic schools who did not participate in any extracurricular activities. Furthermore, the positive developmental experiences that occurred during extracurricular activities predicted a more positive general self-worth and social and academic self-concept, and this link was stronger for youth from low SES schools. These findings suggest that the developmental experiences afforded by extracurricular activities may foster positive adolescent development.
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, Murdoch University, South Street, Murdoch, Perth, WA, 6150, Australia. c.blomfield@murdoch.edu.au
authors.forename: Corey J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Blomfield
authors.forename: Bonnie L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Barber
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D041923:Adolescent Development; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012574:Schools; D012649:Self Concept; D012923:Social Class; D013177:Sports / Q000523:psychology*; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*; D014904:Western Australia / Q000208:ethnology