The Influence of After-School Activity Participation and Perceived Social Support on the Emotional and Social Competence, and School Engagement of Adolescents

Antonia Busack, Pace University

Abstract

This study examined the influence of after-school activity participation and social support on school engagement and emotional and social competence in a sample of adolescents. The participants consisted of 82 ethnically diverse middle and high school students in grades 7 to 12 in a suburban area of New York State, whose average age was 15.29 years. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were employed in order to examine the adolescents' school engagement, emotional competence, and social competence as predicted by their after-school activity participation and social support, while controlling for demographic factors. The main predictors of students' level of school engagement were their perceived social support, the intensity of their after-school activity participation, and their gender, with male students' on average reporting higher levels of school engagement. The main predictor of adolescents' emotional competence was social support, and the main predictors of students' social competence were social support and intensity of after-school activity participation. These findings illustrate the importance of after-school activity participation for students' school engagement, and the importance of adolescents' social support for their emotional and social competencies and their positive school engagement. ^

Subject Area

Education, Educational Psychology|Psychology, Developmental

Recommended Citation

Busack, Antonia, "The Influence of After-School Activity Participation and Perceived Social Support on the Emotional and Social Competence, and School Engagement of Adolescents" (2013). ETD Collection for Pace University. AAI3570711.
https://digitalcommons.pace.edu/dissertations/AAI3570711

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