Predictors and Outcomes Related to Adolescent Extracurricular Involvement (2010)

Undergraduate: Christine Kemp

Faculty Advisor: Elizabeth Pungello
Department: Psychology & Neuroscience

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The Abecedarian Study was an early intervention program that began in Chapel Hill, North Carolina in the 1970s and was designed specifically children at-risk for poor academic outcomes. This current study examined relationships between early childhood factors and young adult outcomes associated with extracurricular participation during adolescence using data from the Abecedarian Study sample. Predictive variables included the quality of early home environment, gender and treatment condition (in terms of the Abecedarian Study) and outcome variables included total number of educational years completed, teenage pregnancy and risky behavior. The quality of the early home environment significantly predicted to extracurricular involvement with higher quality environments being associated with higher amounts of participation. A trend was also found between gender and extracurricular involvement, where males participated more than females. No significant relationships were found between extracurricular involvement and the outcome measures; however, there was a trend between extracurricular involvement and total number of years educational completed where higher amounts of involvement was related to more years completed. This study has implications related to early intervention programs, early home environments and extracurricular participation, especially in high-risk populations.