Abstract
We examine the association of structured and unstructured extracurricular activities on academic achievement for youth with a history of child welfare system involvement. Using longitudinal data from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-being II (NSCAW II) and fixed effects ordinary least squares regression models we examine this association for 905 youth aged 11–17 years old. We find that even moderate levels of participation in structured extracurricular activities are associated with improvements in both math and reading achievement. Specifically, moving from non-participation to involvement in structured activities leads to a 4.46-point increase in applied problem solving and a 2.99-point increase in letter-word identification scores, net of the other controls. These findings suggest that children and youth with child welfare system involvement can benefit from participation in structured activities. This finding is significant in light of federal policy recognizing the importance of “normalizing” activities that enhance the well-being of children and youth in the child welfare system.
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The authors would like to thank Dr. Cyrus J. Schleifer for statistical guidance.
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This study was reviewed and deemed exempt by the authors’ University’s Institutional Review Board. The authors declare that we are in compliance with the rules of good scientific practice. This manuscript is not currently under consideration elsewhere. The data used in this publication were made available by the National Data Archive on Child Abuse and Neglect, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, and have been used with permission. Funding for the project was provided by the Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The collector of the original data, the funder, the Archive, Cornell University and their agents or employees bear no responsibility for the analysis or interpretations presented here. All analysis is the original work of the authors.
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Connelly, S.E., Maher, E.J. & Pharris, A.B. Playing to Succeed: The Impact of Extracurricular Activity Participation on Academic Achievement for Youth Involved with the Child Welfare System. Child Adolesc Soc Work J (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10560-022-00897-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10560-022-00897-7