title: 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.
authors.affiliation: School of Social and Community Services, Humber Institute of Technology & Advanced Learning, Canada; Department of Child & Youth Studies, Brock University, Canada. Electronic address: heather.ramey@humber.ca.
authors.forename: Heather L
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Ramey
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Brock University, Canada; Centre of Excellence for Youth Engagement, Canada.
authors.forename: Linda
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Rose-Krasnor
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Brock University, Canada.
authors.forename: Michael A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Busseri
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Brandon University, Canada.
authors.forename: Shannon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gadbois
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Carleton University, Canada.
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bowker
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Carleton University, Canada.
authors.forename: Leanne
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Findlay
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D041923:Adolescent Development; D002170:Canada; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007899:Leisure Activities / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Activity participation; Psychological engagement; Youth activities; Youth engagement