Intentional self-regulation and participation in 4-H programs: Individual and contextual bases of positive youth development and contribution .

摘要

In order to better elucidate the process through which the strengths of youth and the resources promoting healthy development (such as out-of-school-time programs) may contribute to promote thriving, this research used data from Grades 8, 9, and 10 of the 4-H Study of Positive Youth Development to examine relations between adolescents' self-regulation skills (selection, optimization, and compensation) and their participation in 4-H youth development programs. Results indicated that duration of time spent in a 4-H program interacted with optimization to predict adolescents' contributions to community. These results are discussed in regard to recent research on youth development programs and their effects on positive youth development. Suggestions for future research are made.