Psychosocial Pathways between Extracurricular Participation and Educational Outcomes: Moderated Mediation across Race/Ethnicity and Socioeconomic Status

Background: Although extracurricular participation is widespread among U.S. adolescents, low-income and racial/ethnic minority youth regularly participate at lower rates – a disparity that mirrors and exacerbates larger educational inequities. Extracurricular participation is associated with healthy development and educational opportunities, but less is understood about how these programs may influence youth. One hypothesis is that extracurricular programs promote the attitudes and skills that support success in school, but limited empirical research has tested such pathways.

Purpose: This study tests (1) if psychosocial factors and behaviors mediate the association of extracurricular participation intensity with educational outcomes; and (2) if these pathways vary across racial/ethnic and socioeconomic groups.

Methods: Data was drawn from four waves of the Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002, and included data from parental surveys, student surveys, teacher surveys and school administrative data (n=13,250 sophomores). Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test for direct associations between intensity of high school extracurricular participation (hours/week) and three subsequent educational outcomes (GPA, college enrollment, and educational attainment), and for indirect associations through seven psychosocial factors and behaviors: academic self-efficacy, educational expectations, relevance of education, importance of grades, academic perseverance, academic behaviors and social skills. Multiple fit criteria were assessed, and direct and indirect pathways were tested for significance. Indices of moderated mediation were calculated for each direct and indirect pathway across racial/ethnic and SES groups, and tested for significance. Analyses accounted for additional covariates, including sex, academic history, and family factors.

Results: The proposed mediation model showed strong fit (RMSEA < .01; CFI > .99; WRMR = .032), and several significant pathways. For GPA, all psychosocial and behaviors served as significant indirect pathways, except for perseverance; additionally, the direct pathway between participation intensity and GPA remained significant. Fewer pathways were significant for later outcomes. Between participation intensity and college enrollment, there was only one significant indirect pathway through educational expectations. Likewise, for educational attainment ten years later, only two indirect pathways through academic self-efficacy and academic expectations were significant.

Analyses found limited evidence of moderated mediation, as most indices of moderated medication were statistically insignificant. In one exception, the association between psychosocial factors and educational outcomes was stronger for Black and Latino youth, though the overall indirect pathway was not significantly different from White youth.

Implications: This study provides a glimpse into the “black box” of extracurricular programs – illuminating several theoretical pathways through which extracurricular participation is associated with subsequent educational outcomes. While multiple psychosocial factors may be relevant for shorter-term outcomes such as GPA, the importance of academic self-efficacy and educational expectations may persist beyond adolescence. Additionally, findings may point to the salience of intensity of participation during adolescence. This study highlights the importance of psychosocial factors and behaviors for educational outcomes, while also raising questions about the implications of these factors among racial/ethnic minority youth. Likewise, the limited evidence of moderated mediation suggests these programs may operate similar for different groups of youth. School social workers and policy makers should ensure equal access among low-income and racial/ethnic minority youth.