How youth participate in organized activities over time may influence the extent to which youth experience proximal processes that contribute to positive development (Tudge, Mokrova, Hatfield, & Karnik, 2009). Researchers have reported various patterns of activity participation throughout adolescence (Farb & Matjasko, 2012). Some have found that participation generally decreases during the high school years (Denault & Poulin, 2009), while others have found that participation may remain consistent (Zaff, Moore, Papillo, & Williams, 2003) or even increase during adolescence (Mahoney, Cairns, & Farmer, 2003). These different trajectories may have implications on opportunities for building assets and the long-term effects of participation on development. Exploring multiple distinct trajectories of participation may advance our understanding of adolescent participation and its long-term effects.

Participation is a multi-dimensional construct that has been conceptualized in many ways, including behavioral and psychological engagement. Researchers have assessed behavioral engagement as intensity (frequency of involvement), breadth (number of activities) and duration (length of time in activities) (Bohnert et al., 2010). The relevance of each type may depend on developmental stage. Youth may participate in fewer activities more intensely later in adolescence; thus, intensity may best capture behavioral engagement at this stage (Denault & Poulin, 2009). Psychological engagement is another dimension of participation influencing long-term outcomes. Psychological engagement includes interest, enjoyment and value/importance ascribed to participation; researchers have found that activities youth consider important may have more beneficial effects on their development than those rated less important (McGuire & Gamble, 2006). Few researchers have incorporated both behavioral and psychological engagement in a single measure assessed over time.

Researchers have examined several factors contributing to selection bias in participation studies. In this context, selection bias is “the idea that adolescents with certain characteristics that are related to better functioning are also selecting into (organized activity) participation” (Farb & Matjasko, 2012, p. 4). Two factors that may be associated with selection bias include self-acceptance and academic achievement. Adolescents who start high school with higher levels of self-acceptance may be more likely to engage in (or select into) organized activities because of the high levels of skill required to participate (Farb & Matjasko, 2012). Academic achievement may also create selection bias. Researchers have found a robust relationship between academic achievement and participation (Roth, Malone, & Brooks-Gunn, 2010). Youth reporting higher levels of activity participation may also be more likely than non-participants to do well in school in the first place. These results suggest that these factors are critical control variables when examining the relationship between participation and adult outcomes.

Sociodemographic characteristics may also influence participation trajectories during adolescence. Researchers have found, for example, that parental education is associated with adolescent OAP; adolescents whose parents have higher levels of education are more likely to participate than those whose parents have less education (Linver, Roth, & Brooks-Gunn, 2009). Sex differences in participation may also exist. Some researchers suggest that females generally participate at higher levels than males (except sports) (Eccles, Barber, Stone, & Hunt, 2003), while others have found no sex differences (Pedersen, 2005). Thus, sociodemographic characteristics are important control variables when investigating participation trajectories and young adult outcomes.

Depressive symptoms may have negative effects on social relationships and daily functioning and increase risk of harmful behaviors during young adulthood (CDC, 2013). Some researchers have found that higher levels of activity participation are associated with lower levels of depressive symptoms in adolescence (Bohnert, Richards, Kolmodin, & Lakin, 2008), while others have found no association (Darling, 2005). Few researchers have examined the relationship between adolescent participation and adulthood depressive symptoms. Notably, Fredricks and Eccles (2006) found that participation during adolescence was not associated with depressive symptoms in emerging adulthood. Yet, they did not account for growth over time or consider distinct trajectories. Longer-term effects of different adolescent participation trajectories on young adult depression are unknown.

Life satisfaction refers to one’s overall cognitive appraisal of his/her quality of life (Diener, 1994). Individuals with high life satisfaction tend to possess developmental assets such strong social connections, which may contribute to higher resistance to stressors and better physical and mental health compared to those with low life satisfaction (Diener, 1994). Researchers have found an association between participation and life satisfaction among youth (Bundick, 2011). Organized activity participation may foster intrinsic psychological rewards that, in turn, contribute to life satisfaction (Nakamura & Csikszentmihalyi, 2002). Although most researchers examining this relationship have only examined life satisfaction during adolescence, its effects may extend into adulthood (Diener, 1994). Furthermore, long term effects may vary by how youth participate over time.

The relationship between participation and substance use in emerging adulthood is equivocal. Researchers examining this relationship report mixed findings, with some finding no relationship (Mahoney & Vest, 2012) and others that participation is associated with less substance use in emerging adulthood (Carlo, Crockett, Wilkinson, & Beal, 2011). These differences may be due to differential effects of participation on substance use by participation trajectory. More research is needed to examine how adolescent trajectories may be associated with young adult substance use.

Researchers have found that adolescents who participate more in organized activities have higher rates of college attendance compared to less participation (Gardner, Roth, & Brooks-Gunn, 2008). These studies, however, only included educational status a few years following high school in nationally representative samples. Few researchers have investigated adolescent OAP and young adult educational attainment among understudied subgroups of youth, such as those living in urban, disadvantaged communities. Fewer yet have examined how distinct trajectories of participation during adolescence may be associated with educational attainment in young adulthood.

We measured organized activity participation using student-report of behavioral (intensity) and psychological (importance) engagement. Participants were asked annually to list up to four activities each for school, church and community contexts. Participants were asked, using 4-point scales, to report how often they participated in each activity from 1=hardly ever to 4= most of the time, and how important the activity was to them from 1=not important to 4=very important. Non-participants were coded as zero. We created a composite score for each activity by multiplying students’ reported frequency by importance. We then summed activity scores within and across domains (school, church and community) to obtain an aggregate participation score. Scores could range from 0 to 192 per year (Wave). The highest score was 119. If a participant, for example, attended an activity “most of the time” (4) and rated it as “very important” (4) that activity’s score would be 16 (4×4). A student in the 99^th percentile of participation was involved in 7 of such activities throughout the year. The mean for Wave 1 was 18.87, which could represent one activity in which the participant is highly engaged and one activity in which a participant is minimally engaged.

Youth in the increasing subgroup reported higher levels of life satisfaction in young adulthood than those in the decreasing participation subgroup. Participants in the increasing subgroup reported life satisfaction scores 0.5 points higher in young adulthood that those in the decreasing subgroup, accounting for Wave 1 self-acceptance. We found no differences in life satisfaction across trajectory subgroups. We also found no differences in depressive symptoms during early adulthood by trajectory class accounting for Wave 1 depressive symptoms.

Our results indicated that substance use differed in young adulthood by trajectory class. Adolescents in the increasing subgroup reported lower levels of substance use in adulthood compared to those in the decreasing subgroup; for those in the increasing subgroup, substance use was 1.44 points lower than those in the decreasing subgroup. We found no differences in substance use between the consistent and decreasing participation subgroups.

Our results indicated no differences in young adult educational attainment by participation trajectory subgroup membership when accounting for Wave 1 GPA.

The more favorable life-satisfaction outcomes found among the increasing subgroup compared to the decreasing subgroup may be due to opportunities to enhance developmental assets. Adolescents involved in activities report a greater sense of belonging, higher perceived competence and more confidence than less involved adolescents (Eccles & Gootman, 2002). Researchers have also found that youth report more positive emotional states when they are involved in organized activities compared to other contexts such as school or unstructured time (Bohnert et al., 2008). Youth who increased their participation over time may have experienced greater exposure to these positive experiences during a developmental period characterized by increasing independence and greater exposure to social and personal stressors which may be particularly pronounced among youth living in urban, disadvantaged areas (Peck, Roeser, Zarrett, & Eccles, 2008). These results suggest that expanding opportunities for youth activity participation during middle- and late-adolescence may be beneficial, especially for youth living in high risk contexts. Participation during this stage may also help build assets that continue to psychological well-being in adulthood.

We did not find differences in depressive symptoms by trajectory subgroup, while accounting for adolescent depressive symptoms. This may be because individuals who experience risk factors, from individual (including genetic) to community (e.g., disadvantaged community) may experience these risks over the life span (Rudenstine, 2013). Despite exposure to adolescent promotive factors, youth experiencing depressive symptoms may also be at higher risk for depression in young adulthood.

Adolescents in the increasing participation subgroup reported less substance use in young adulthood compared to youth in the decreasing subgroup. Substance misuse may be of particular concern among young adults living in urban, disadvantaged environments as it may be a coping mechanism for dealing with stressors or trauma present in such contexts (Mulia, Ye, Zemore, & Greenfield, 2008; NIH, 2008). Organized activity participation may serve as an important way to build assets and provide opportunities for positive developmental experiences that help reduce the likelihood of substance use during young adulthood. Youth who increase their engagement in activities during mid- and late-adolescence may be better equipped to handle stressors and avoid substance abuse-related disorders in young adulthood. Adults working with youth experiencing social disadvantage may help bolster long-term prevention efforts through finding ways expand opportunities for youth activity participation during mid- and late-adolescence that supports PYD and helps build important developmental assets.

Contrary to what other researchers have found, our results indicated that post-high school educational attainment was not associated with participation trajectories. Our results may differ from prior research because our sample was focused in one geographical area. Past research mostly included nationally representative samples, who may not face the same challenges to postsecondary education as youth from urban, disadvantaged areas (Gardner et al., 2008). Another explanation for the divergent findings may be that past researchers focused on a specific type of participation (e.g., civic participation) that may be more predictive of educational outcomes in adulthood (Chan, Ou, & Reynolds, 2014). This suggests that specific types of participation may be more predictive of later educational attainment rather than participation across multiple contexts, and that our results may be most generalizable to lower income urban youth.

Overall, our results suggest that youth who expand their organized activity participation during high school derive long-term benefits. Yet, this group was also the smallest participation subgroup. Adolescents typically decrease their participate over time, particularly from mid- to late-adolescence and sustaining or even expanding participation as adolescents transition to adulthood can be a challenge (Lauver & Little, 2005). Competing demands such as family responsibilities, desire for paid employment, lack of interest in activities and more limited opportunities to engage all may inhibit youth expanding participation over time (Lauver, Little, & Weiss, 2004). Adults working with youth during mid- to late-adolescence may benefit from structuring activities to meet their diverse and changing developmental needs in order to help expand behavioral and psychological engagement. Researchers have found, for example, that older adolescents may be more likely to become engaged in programs that help them learn about careers and college, and teach them skills related to the future (Greene, Lee, Constance, & Hynes, 2013). Thus, through strategies such as incorporating developmentally-relevant content within organized activities, adults may be better positioned to support expanded participation over time.

We found no differences between the consistent group and other groups. This may be because, compared to other studies with primarily middle- and upper-class participants, the moderate, consistent level of participation was not sufficient to overcome the contextual risk factors faced by youth living in urban, disadvantaged communities. This may also be because the moderate, consistent level of participation was relative to other youth also living in the same economically challenged context. Youth living in disadvantaged communities, on average, participate significantly less in organized activities than youth living in more advantaged communities (Pedersen, 2005). In fact, “(u)rban African American youth often spend very little of their discretionary time involved in organized…activities.” (Bohnert, Richards, Kohl, & Randall, 2009, p. 587) Consequently, the moderate level of participation may not have offered sufficient exposure to building developmental assets whose effects extend into adulthood.