Predicting Young Adult Civic Involvement From Adolescent Activities and Family Structure: A Social Capital Approach

Predicting Young Adult Civic Involvement From Adolescent Activities and Family Structure: A Social Capital Approach

This study employs a life-course approach to investigate the role of participation in school-based extracurricular activities as a compensatory source of social capital for adolescents, particularly those reared in non-traditional families and the effect of participation on early adult outcomes. Using Waves I and III from the Add Health data, civic involvement in young adulthood is examined. Interestingly, adolescent extracurricular activities are no more important for children from alternative family structures. However, benefits of participation are still evident from this examination, even when controlling for measures of social capital. Survey analysis techniques which control for the complex sampling design in Add Health are used.

___

  • Amato, P. and Keith, B. (1991a). Parental divorce and adult well being: a meta- analysis. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 53: 43-58.
  • Amato, P. and Keith, B. (1991b). Separation from a parent during childhood and adult socioeconomic attainment. Social Forces, 70, 187-206.
  • Aquilino, W. (1996). The life course of children born to unmarried mothers: childhood living arrangements and young adult outcomes. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 58, (2). 293-310.
  • Biblarz, T. and Raftery, A. (1993). The effects of family disruption on social mobility. American Sociological Review, 58:97. 97-109.
  • Bordieu, P. (1973). The three forms of theoretical knowledge. Social Science Information, 12, (1), 53-80.
  • Bumpass, L. (1984). Children and marital disruption: A replication and update. Demography, 21, 71-82.
  • Casey, D. M., Ripke, M. N., & Huston, A. J. (2005). Activity participation and the well-being of children and adolescents in the context of welfare reform. In J. L. Mahoney, R. W. Larson, and J. S. Eccles (Eds.), Organized activities as contexts of development: Extracurricular activities, after-school and community programs (pp. 65-84). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
  • Castro, M. and Bumpass, L. (1989). Recent trends in marital disruption. Demography, , 37-51.
  • Cherlin, A. (1991). Longitudinal studies of the effects of divorce on children in Great Britain and the United States. Science, 252: 1386-1389.
  • Cherlin, A. (1992). Marriage, divorce, and remarriage. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Press.
  • Coleman, J. (1988a). Social capital in the creation of human capital. The American Journal of Sociology, 94, 95-121.
  • Coleman, J. (1988b). The creation and destruction of social capital: implications for the law. Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics, and Public Policy 3: 375-404.
  • Coleman, J. (1990). Foundations of social theory. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
  • Dawson, D. (1999). Family structure and children’s health and well-being: data from the 1988 national health interview survey on child health. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 53, (3). 573.
  • Eccles, B., Barber, B., Stone, M. and Hunt, J. (2003). Extracurricular activities and adolescent development. Journal of Social Issues, 59, (4) 865-889.
  • Eccles, J. and Gootman, J. (Eds.) (2002). Community programs to promote youth development. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
  • Eccles, J. and Templeton, J. (2002). Extracurricular and other after-school activities for youth. Review of Research in Education, 26, 113-180.
  • Eccles, J. and Barber, B. (1999). Student council, volunteering, basketball, or marching band: what kind of extracurricular involvement matters? Journal of Adolescent Research, 14, 10-43.
  • Eckenrode, J. and Gore, S. (1990). Eds. Stress Between Work and Family. New York: Plenum.
  • Elder, G. (1994). Time, human agency, and social change: Perspectives on the life course. Social Psychology Quarterly, 57, (1) 4-15.
  • Furstenberg, F. (2005). Banking on families: how families generate and distribute social capital. Journal of Marriage and Family, 67, (4), 809-821.
  • Furstenberg, F. (1996). The future of marriage. American Demographics, 18, 34-40.
  • Furstenberg, F. and Hughes, M. (1995). Social capital and successful development among at-risk youth. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 57, (3), 580-592.
  • Gerber, E. (1996). Legislative response to the threat of popular initiatives. American Journal of Political Science, 40, (1), 99-128.
  • Harrison, P. and Narayan, G. (2003). Differences in behavior, psychological factors, and environmental factors associated with participation in school sports and other activities in adolescence. Journal of School Health, 73, (3) 113-120.
  • Landers, D. and Landers, D. (1978). Socialization via interscholastic athletics, its effect on delinquency. Sociology of Education, 51, 299-301.
  • Larson, R. (2000). Toward a psychology of positive youth development. American Psychologist, 55, (1), 170-183.
  • Mahoney, J. (2000). School extracurricular activity participation as a moderator in the development of antisocial patterns. Child Development, 71(2), 502-516.
  • Mahoney, J. and Cairns, R. (1997). Do extracurricular activities protect against early school dropout? Developmental Psychology, 33(2), 241-253.
  • Marsh, H. (1992). Extracurricular activities: Beneficial extension of the traditional curriculum or subversion of academic goals? Journal of educational Psychology, (4), 553-562.
  • Marsh, H. and Kleitman, S. (2002). Extracurricular school activities: The good, the bad, and the non-linear. Harvard Educational Review, 72(4), 464-514.
  • Marsh, H. and Kleitman, S. (2003). School athletic participation: Mostly gain with little pain. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 25, 205-228.
  • McLanahan, S. (1997). Parent absence or poverty: which matters more? In Duncan, G. and Brooks-Gunn, J., eds. Consequences of growing up poor. New York: Russell Sage.
  • McLanahan, S. and Sundefur, G. (1994). Growing up with a single parent: what helps, what hurts. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
  • McNeal, R. (1995). Extracurricular activities and high school dropouts. Sociology of Education, 68, 62-81.
  • McNeal, R. (1999a). Participation in high school extracurricular activities: Investigating school effects. Social Science Quarterly, 80, (2), 291-309.
  • McNeal, R. (1999b). Parental involvement as social capital: differential effectiveness on science achievement, truancy, and dropping out. Social Forces, 78, (1), 117-144.
  • Mullan, K., Duncan, G., and Boisjoly, J. (2002). Evaluating the role of the “nothing to lose attitude” on risky behavior in adolescence. Social Forces, 80, (3), 1005-1039.
  • Putnam, R. (1995). Bowling alone: America’s declining social capital. Journal of Democracy 6, (1), 65-78.
  • Putnam, R. (1996).The strange disappearance of civic America. The American Prospect, 7, (24).
  • Putnam, R. (2000). Bowling alone: the collapse and revival of American community. New York: Touchstone Books.
  • Rahn, W. and Transue, J. (1998). Social trust and value change: The decline of social capital in American youth, 1976-1995. Political Psychology 19, (3), 545–565.
  • Sandefur, G., McLanahan, S., and Wojttkiewicz, R. (1992). The effects of parental marital status during adolescence on high school graduation. Social Forces, 71, (1), 121.
  • Wallerstein, J. (1989). Second chances: men, women, and children a decade after divorce. New York: Ticknor and Fields.
  • White, A. and Gager, C. (In press). Idle Hands and Empty Pockets? Youth Involvement in Extracurricular Activities and SocialCapital. Youth and Society.
  • Wojtkiewicz, R. (1993). Simplicity and complexity in the effects of parental structure on high school graduation. Demography, 30, 701-717.
  • Youniss, J., McLellan, J., and Yates, S. (1997). What we know about engendering civic identity. American Behavior Scientist, 40, 619-630.
  • Youniss, J., MCLellan, J., Yang, S., and Yates, M. (1999). The role of community service in identity development: normative, unconventional, and deviant orientations. Journal of Adolescent Research, 14, (2), 248-261.
  • Youniss, J., Yates, M., and Su, Y. (1997). Social integration: Community service and marijuana use in high school seniors. Journal of Adolescent Research, 12, 245-262.
  • Zick, C. and Allen, C. (1996). The impact of parents’ marital status on time adolescents spend in productive activities. Family Relations, 45, (1), 65-71.