Past and present participation in extracurricular activities is associated with adaptive self-regulation of goals, academic success, and emotional wellbeing among university students

Abstract

The transition to adulthood requires young people to form, pursue and regulate goals that have far reaching implications for success and wellbeing, including within the university context. Extracurricular activity participation (ECAP) may be related to the development of self-regulatory mechanisms theorized to underpin positive academic, psychological, and social outcomes. The current study aims to determine 1) whether past and present ECAP is associated with adaptive self-regulation of goals among university students, and 2) whether adaptive self-regulation of goals accounts for associations between ECAP and indicators of academic success and emotional wellbeing. Our results showed that university students' past and present ECAP was positively associated with goal self-regulation strategies, which, in turn were related to higher levels of academic success and emotional wellbeing. Universities and colleges should encourage ECA participation to support positive adjustment outcomes.