Making Every Day Count - Teens

The Teens in the Study 9Table 1Demographic Characteristics of StudyParticipants at BaselineGenderMale 52.3%Female 47.7%GradeGrade 7 52.5%Grade 8 47.5%Living situationLives with both parents 47.2%Lives with mother 40.9%Lives with father 5.9%Lives with other relative 4.7%Lives with foster parent 1.2%Receives free/reduced-price lunchYes 71.1%Source: Winter 2006 survey of 322 seventh and eighth graders.Attitudes, Beliefs and BehaviorsOur survey also included a series of questionsdesigned to elicit information about teens’ attitudes,beliefs and behaviors within the three broadoutcome areas that the Clubs are striving to impact:1. Good character and citizenship (e.g., sense ofintegrity, fairness and open-mindedness, positiveconflict-resolution skills, social competence);2. Academic success (e.g., grades on their lastreport card, attitudes toward and behaviors inschool, importance of school); and3. Healthy lifestyles (e.g., involvement in health andrisk behaviors, such as contact with law enforcementand alcohol and drug use).(Please see Appendix C for more information aboutthe specific items and measures.)Assessing youth at the beginning of the studyallowed us to present a picture of these youth whenthey were in seventh and eighth grades. By conductingfollow-up surveys at a later point in time, wewere able to track how these attitudes and beliefschanged. Table 2 summarizes the youth’s responseson the baseline survey to questions about their attitudes,beliefs and behaviors.As Table 2 indicates, results from the survey atthe start of the study reveal that the youth tendedto report performing fairly well in school, havingrelatively positive character strengths and engagingin few risk behaviors. Overall, 70 percent of youthreported receiving mostly As or Bs on their reportcards. 16 Although few youth reported skippingschool (12 percent), about one third (30 percent)reported having been suspended from school in thepast year. In addition, youth reported high levelsof social competence, belief in the importance ofschool, academic confidence, feeling connected toteachers at their schools, and future expectations.Youth’s Tenure at the ClubsAs displayed in Table 3, most teens in the study hada long tenure at the Club prior to the start of theevaluation. Almost 60 percent reported that theyhad already been coming to the Club for more thantwo years at the time of the Winter 2006 survey, withalmost one third (32 percent) reporting they hadbeen attending the Club for five years or more. 17This level of tenure among the seventh and eighthgraders is important because it indicates that amain attraction for the teens might be that theyhave already been involved in, and know, the Club.At the same time, it is also an indication of the challengeClubs face in attracting new teens who havenever been to the Club before.Proximity to the ClubsThe Clubs are located in the neighborhoods whereyouth live, thus addressing the challenge that youth(and their parents) often face of getting to andfrom out-of-school-time programs. In general, theteens reported easy access to the Clubs and lived inrelatively close proximity to the Club they attended.As seventh and eighth graders, 54 percent said theywalked, biked or skateboarded to the Club, andalmost two thirds (60 percent) reported that it took