Abstract
Youth’s structured (e.g., sports) and unstructured (e.g., socializing) activities are key contexts for positive development. Both behavioral participation (e.g., frequency) and elements of psychological engagement (e.g., enjoyment, challenge) in programs and activities have been linked to components of youth development. We tested a model in which both psychological engagement and behavioral participation in activities predicted overall positive youth development in older adolescent and emerging adult samples (Sample 1, n = 235, mean age = 18.7 years, SD = 1.4 years, 67.7% female; Sample 2, n = 186, mean age = 20.0 years, SD = 2.1 years, 68.8% female). In the first known study to include behavioral participation and multidimensional psychological engagement in predicting the Five Cs of positive youth development, we found that greater psychological engagement, but not behavioral participation, was related to higher positive youth development across samples and different activity types. Findings suggest that promoting youth’s psychological engagement in programs and other activities, rather than just their physical presence, may be advantageous for strengthening positive youth development.
Highlights
Psychological Engagement and PYDPositive youth development (PYD)Positive youth development (PYD) frameworks focus on supporting youth in realizing their full developmental potential (e.g., Lerner, Lerner, Bowers, & Geldhof, 2015), often in the context of youth programs (Arnold & Silliman, 2018)
All three psychological engagement composites were positively related to PYD, in both samples
In the first known study to include both behavioral participation and multidimensional psychological engagement in predicting the Five Cs of PYD, we found that youth with greater psychological engagement had higher PYD
Summary
Psychological Engagement and PYDPositive youth development (PYD) frameworks focus on supporting youth in realizing their full developmental potential (e.g., Lerner, Lerner, Bowers, & Geldhof, 2015), often in the context of youth programs (Arnold & Silliman, 2018). Numerous studies have provided evidence linking participation in programs and other activities (e.g., sports teams, clubs) in adolescence and emerging adulthood to single elements of youth’s positive development, including better health, fewer externalizing problems, and completing more years of education (e.g., Denault & Poulin, 2017). Youth’s psychological engagement (e.g., enjoyment, challenge) in their activities has received less attention. Some recent studies have found that elements of psychological engagement have been more important in predicting positive outcomes than the frequency or duration of young people’s participation (e.g., Forgeard & Benson, 2017). We built on past findings, testing multiple dimensions of psychological engagement and behavioral participation as potential predictors of youth’s overall PYD, in late adolescence and emerging adulthood
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