PSYKHE 2008, Vol.17, Nº 2, 91-102

Copyright 2008 by Psykhe ISSN 0717-0297

Gender Variation in Extracurricular Activity Participation and Perceived Life Chances in Trinidad and Tobago Adolescents Variación por Sexo de la Participación en Actividades Extracurriculares y la Percepción de Oportunidades de Vida en Adolescentes de Trinidad y Tobago
Zena R. Mello y Frank C. Worrell University of California

Participation in extracurricular activities has surfaced as an important context for adolescent development and may be a fruitful avenue for fostering future attitudes, a concept shown to predict adolescent behaviors. In this study of youth from Trinidad and Tobago, we examined gender differences in activity participation and …ver más…

Other perspectives propose that academic-related bene¿ts may occur through learning how to focus and structure time with extracurricular activities (Chin & Harrington, 2007). For example, Chin and Harrington (2007) discussed the potential bene¿ts of studying music, such as ¿ne motor development, learning to focus attention, and improve social skills. Even further, some researchers argue that participation in extracurricular activities may play an especially important role in the lives of adolescents who face challenges due to economic or social situations, because the bene¿ts of activity participation may offset such challenges (Boratav, 2005; Guttman, 1994). Thus, from all of these perspectives, youth residing in Trinidad and Tobago may bene¿t from extracurricular activity participation. Extracurricular activities refer to involvement in organized groups or activities such as dance, football, and student government and may occur in or outside of school. In Trinidad, extracurricular activities are an important part of adolescent life. There are national competitions celebrating adolescents’ performance in a variety of activities including football (soccer), cricket, drama, and debating (Worrell & Bucknavage, 2004). Reports of Trinidadian youth indicate that a majority participate in some extracurricular activity. In fact, in one study, 75% of the youth reported that they participated in at least one activity (Guttman,