Comparing Socioemotional Outcomes for Early Adolescents Who Join After School for Internal or External Reasons

Students’ reason for joining after school programs can be categorized into two groups: self-joined (internal orientation) or other-joined (external orientation stemming from parents, teachers, etc.). Drawing upon Self-Determination Theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985), we tested whether students’ reason to join an after school program related to proximal and distal socioemotional outcomes (i.e., autonomy, perceived trust in staff, self-efficacy, and prosocial behavior) in 277 low-income, early adolescents (sixth through eighth graders) participating in an after school program. Within the context of an external evaluation of a large after school program, student surveys were administered at the beginning and end of the school year to assess change over time in socioemotional outcomes. After controlling for gender, compared to other-joined students, self-joined students demonstrated significantly higher autonomy, self-efficacy, and prosoical behaviors both initially and over time. However, students who switched their reported motivation for joining from self-joined at pretest to other-joined at posttest significantly decreased socioemotional ratings compared to all other student groups. Implications for youth development researchers, evaluators, and after school practitioners are discussed.