Abstract

Patterns of afterschool activities were studied in low-income, ethnically diverse children (n = 1796, M age = 8.7 yrs). Cluster analyses indicated four reliable clusters: (a) regular participation in a high-quality afterschool program, (b) regular participation at the afterschool program combined with other extracurricular activities, (c) unsupervised time afterschool combined with extracurricular activities, and (d) low participation in any of these settings. Children who regularly attended a high-quality afterschool program alone or combined with extracurricular activities were reported by teachers to have higher academic performance, work habits, and task persistence, and less aggression towards peers compared to children whose afterschool hours combined unsupervised time with extracurricular activities. Attending high-quality afterschool programs alone and in combination with extracurricular activities also were associated with child self-reports of less misconduct compared to unsupervised time combined with extracurricular activities. These findings indicate the value of high-quality afterschool programs for children growing up in poverty.

摘要

在低收入、种族多样化的儿童中研究了课后活动的模式（n = 1796，M 年龄 = 8.7 岁）。聚类分析表明有四个可靠的聚类：(a) 定期参加高质量的课外活动，(b) 定期参加课外活动并结合其他课外活动，(c) 课外活动与课外活动相结合的无人监督时间，以及 (d)在任何这些环境中的参与度很低。与课外时间与课外活动相结合的儿童相比，那些经常单独参加高质量课后活动或结合课外活动的儿童被教师报告为具有更高的学习成绩、工作习惯和任务持久性，并且对同龄人的攻击性更小. 与无监督时间结合课外活动相比，单独参加高质量的课后活动以及结合课外活动也与儿童自我报告的不当行为较少相关。这些发现表明，高质量的课外活动对贫困儿童的价值。