Research Spotlight

Participation in Structured Youth Programs: Why Ethnic Minority Urban Youth Choose to Participate—or Not to Participate

Reasons for – and barriers to – participation differ by ethnicity, and by gender, according to the study, which focused on youth ages 9-19 in urban Michigan who identified themselves as Black/African American, Latino, Arab and Chaldean (an ethnic group of Christians from the area now known as Iran). About half were involved in youth organizations three times per week; the other half were not involved.

The 77 subjects engaged in brainstorming sessions that led to more in-depth discussions about the topic. Data were systematically analyzed, and they showed that the top reasons for participation among these groups were to help them to avoid trouble, to learn new skills and to have fun.

The most common barriers preventing youth from participating differed among ethnicities included their own negative impressions of the program (the “cool” factor), peer influences and parental restrictions.

Lynne Borden.and Daniel Perkins were two of six youth development experts who conducted the research and wrote the resulting article. Here, Borden and Perkins highlight some of their findings for the CYFERnet audience:

The top reason for youth program participation
is that the programs are fun.

What were some of the other main reasons youth gave for participating or not participating in programs?

Perkins: The young people who participated in the study emphasized the value of youth programs for providing a safe place that keeps them off the streets and away from trouble. In every brainstorming session, youth mentioned this as a very important reason. Previous research has concluded this, too. Secondly, these spaces afford youth an opportunity to be themselves and to learn. Learning was a frequently cited reason for attending youth programs. For instance, the foreign-born youth mentioned how the programs offered assistance in learning English to help them fit in with American culture, and every group mentioned skills such as conflict resolution, career skills, self-confidence and cultural knowledge that they gained by taking part.

The chance to do something positive, both for themselves and for the community, was also noted by many participants, many of whom went on to say that they valued the opportunity to be role models for younger children. In the meeting with Arab females, they also described how important it was for them to demonstrate positive behavior for adults.

Borden: Interestingly, although “Safety issues” were at the top of the list of reasons for participating, they were also a big reason for non-participation. One of the things we learned is not to assume that youth who live in high-risk places think about coming to programs in the same way other kids do. We need to consider how safe it is for youth to get to our program, and how safe it is while they’re there. Is it safe for young people to walk there? Do they have to walk through a drug park? “Safe” has multiple meanings.

All of the groups, both male and female, mentioned “Too busy/don’t have time” as a reason for not participating. But “Negative opinions of youth center” was also really important. If youth don’t like the youth center or they don’t like the people at the center, they’re not going to attend.

How do cultural differences influence youth participation?

Borden: They play a significant role, and also the length of time in which a young person has been in the U.S. Youth who were new immigrants were more likely to engage in programs if they had the opportunity to develop new skills. As you can see in the table of reasons why young people participate (pg. 429), “To learn new skills” was more important to youth than “Because it’s fun.”

Youth who were first-generation immigrants wanted more skill development, more job preparation and more language development. That makes a lot of sense, but we don’t always think about that in our program development. These youth want to be successful in society. They want to know how to speak the language and how to get a good job.

Does gender make much of a difference?

Borden: Yes. Oftentimes, a certain culture doesn’t allow young women to participate, whereas young men are allowed. That’s because girls may have more responsibilities at home. And, if you look at the “Body image” category in the table of reasons why youth don’t participate; three of the four female groups mentioned it, while just one group of boys did.

Among African American and Arab females, the top reasons for attending followed themes of personal development, such as accomplishment and forming meaningful relationships with peers and adults.

African American males and Latinos, on the other hand, appreciated the opportunity for individuation, developing self-confidence, to play sports, and developing job opportunities.

What about the parents? What role do they play?

Borden: It is so important to understand that, depending on their cultural background, many kids are simply not allowed to attend programs. In another study we did between Latinos and Latinas, we saw that young women were staying home to take care of the younger children at home. And new immigrant parents were more hesitant to let their kids go because they didn’t know who any of the program staff or participants were or what was happening. For example, Chaldean males reported that their parents, new immigrants, discouraged them from coming because they thought something bad might happen to them.

Drawing from your research, how should CYFAR professionals market their programs to at-risk youth?

Borden: You have to present it as a way for them to have fun, but also to learn something. The youth might start with a program because their friends are there, but that’s not going to keep them coming. If they can learn a new skill or have access to technology, those are the main reasons for ongoing attendance.

What else should program staff keep in mind?

Borden: When you work with diverse populations and young people, you must be aware of the restraints they face. Diverse populations have diverse needs and there are diverse expectations at home. Particularly in new immigrant families, the parents may not speak English, so they may not understand why young people want to participate.

Perkins: The fact that “a place to keep off the streets” was one of the first responses in each of the brainstorming sessions attests to the importance that participants place on program spaces as sanctuaries. So youth programs need to ensure that their space of operation is safe, both within the program and surrounding it.

Participation in Structured Youth Programs was written by Daniel F. Perkins, Pennsylvania State University; Lynne M. Borden, University of Arizona, Tucson; Francisco A. Villarruel, Michigan State University, East Lansing; Annelise Carlton-Hug, Montana State University, Bozeman; Margaret R. Stone, University of Arizona, Tucson; Joanne G. Keith, Michigan State University, East Lansing. To read a PDF version of the full article online, visit http://yas.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/38/4/420.

Lynn Borden is extension specialist and associate professor in the division of family studies and human development at the Norton School of Family and Consumer Sciences at the University of Arizona. Her research and extension work focus on youth development and she is the CYFAR project director for Arizona. In past years she was part of the NNCO in Ohio and Michigan.

Daniel Perkins is professor of family and youth resiliency and policy at Penn State University Extension. In 1992 he began working on CYFAR's National Network for Collaboration (NNCO) project when he was at Michigan State University. By 2003, he was at Penn State, where he initiated the Youth Engaged in Technology (YET), a CYFAR after-school program for high school students that uses technology as a basis for all projects.

For more information:
Barber, B.L., Eccles, J.S. & Stone, M.R. (2001) Whatever happened to the “Jock”, the “Brain”, and the “Princess”?: Young adult pathways linked to adolescent activity involvement and social identity. Journal of Adolescent Research, 16, 429-455.

Brown, R., & Evans, W.P. (2002). Extracurricular activity and ethnicity: Creating greater school connection among diverse student populations. Urban Education, 37(1), 41-48.

Halpern, R., Barker, G. & Mollard, W. (2000). Youth programs as alternative spaces to be: A study of neighborhood youth programs in Chicago’s West Town. Youth and Society, 31, 469-506.

http://www.cyfernet.org/databases/cyfarreporting/Public/narratives/statesearch.asp

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