Youth Programs, out-of-School Activities

Adolescence is regarded as a pivotal period for youth. On the one hand, it is time to develop values and competencies and gain the social and intellectual experiences necessary for a successful transition into adulthood (National Research Council, 2002). On the other hand, adolescence is a period when a variety of problem behaviors increase in severity and consequence for some young persons. In recent years, there has been a growing recognition that how adolescents spend their time outside of school plays an important role in both the acquisition of competencies and the development of problems.

Increasingly, the attention of policymakers, scientists, educators, and the public has focused on the capacity of structured out-of-school programs and activities to address the risks and opportunities inherent in the 40% to 54% of adolescents' waking hours available for leisure pursuits (Larson & Verma, 1999). This attention is fueled in part by increases in maternal employment that often result in a gap between the workdays of parents and the schooldays of youth. Because adult monitoring continues to be critical for adolescents, outof-school activities have been suggested as one way to provide adult supervision for young persons during the hours following school dismissal.

As considerable funding, time, and resources are now devoted to out-of-school activities, an important role of research is to help identify the components of effective programs that promote positive adolescent development as well as those that do not confer benefits or that may be harmful.