Jillian M. Wickery & Laura D. Pittman Developmental Differences in the Link Between Activities and Achievement: The Mediational Role of Self-Esteem and School Belonging Jillian M. Wickery & Laura D. Pittman Introduction The psychological literature has begun to closely consider the developmental consequences of extracurricular activity participation for children and adolescents (Eccles, Barber, Stone, & Hunt, 2003). There is converging evidence suggesting that participation in extracurricular activities (I.e., sports and clubs) facilitates academic achievement as well as other aspects of positive development (e.g., Barber, Eccles, & Stone, 2001; Eccles, Barber, Stone, & Hunt, 2003; Guest & Schneider, 2003; Mahoney, Cairns, & Farmer, 2003). Though studies provide good evidence of the association between extracurricular activities and achievement, there is less research about the reasons for this association, and most research focuses on a young adolescent age group. Two variables that may explain the link between extracurricular activity participation and achievement are enhanced self-esteem and school belonging (Bowker, 2006; Eccles et al., 2003) . The purpose of this study was to examine self-esteem and school belonging as mediators of the relationship between extracurricular activities and achievement in 4th, 7th, and 10th grade students. Discussion The association between participation in extracurricular activities and achievement was positive and significant for 7th and 10th grade students, but not for 4th graders. Most previous research has not examined the relationship between extracurricular activities and achievement for children as young as fourth grade, and thus, the current finding may be true. However, this main relationship might not have been significant for fourth grade because there was less variance in grades reported by fourth graders (SD = 1.03) than for 7th and 10th grade students (SD = 1.60 for 7th grade, 1.53 for 10th grade). In addition, there was less variance in the total number of activities reported by fourth graders (SD = 2.36) than for 7th or 10th graders (SD = 3.89 for 7th grade, 2.70 for 10th grade). Previous research has found that self-esteem is positively related to extracurricular activity participation (Bowker, 2006; Fredricks & Eccles, 2006) and achievement (Liu, Kaplan, & Risser,1992; Rosenberg, Schooler, & Schoenbach,1989). Current findings indicated that self-esteem fully mediated the relationship between participation in extracurricular activities and achievement for 7th and 10th graders. Previous research has demonstrated that school belonging is positively associated with students’ participation in extracurricular activities (Finn, 1989; Leithwood & Jantzi, 1999) as well as their academic achievement levels (Barber et al., 2001; Eccles & Barber, 1999). In this study, participation in extracurricular activities was not significantly associated with school belonging for 10th grade students. Therefore, school belonging cannot be considered a mediator of the relationship between activities and achievement for 10th graders. However, school belonging did function as a mediator of the relationship between extracurricular activities and achievement for seventh graders. It appears that school belonging functions differently for 7th graders than for 4th or 10th grade students. It is possible that the sense of belonging is more important for pre-adolescent, seventh grade students. Results Sample Characteristics Total Sample 4th Grade 7th Grade 10th Grade Variable Range M SD Student Age 8 – 17 years 12.73 2.44 9.71 .55 12.76 .46 15.50 .52 Grades 2 (Mostly Ds and F’s) – 9 (Mostly As) 7.66 1.44 7.98 1.03 7.78 1.59 7.27 1.53 Self-Esteem 26 (Low) – 78 (High) 51.81 9.75 53.92 9.88 51.45 10.77 50.20 8.26 School Belonging 1 (Low) – 5 (High) 3.93 .66 4.10 .57 3.85 .69 .70 Total Activities 0 – 16 3.76 3.11 2.82 2.36 4.47 3.89 3.98 2.70 Regression Analyses Regression Analyses Testing Mediation of the Link between Extracurricular Activities and Achievement by Self-Esteem and School Belonging for Fourth Graders (N = 87) Variable Model 1 Model 2 Model 3 Model 4 B SE B β Β Student sexa -.01 .23 .02 .01 -.00 # of parents in householdb .36 .00 .08 .35 .03 .05 .37 .06 Student racec -.25 .32 -.09 -.05 -.02 -.21 -.08 -.04 Total activities Self-esteem .29* .04 .39* School belonging .19 .20 .11 .26 -.14 Constant 7.99 .54 6.26 .85 7.16 1.03 6.77 1.01 R² .25 .09 1.52 .38 1.41 F-Ratio Participation in extracurricular activities is not significantly related to achievement in fourth grade students; thus, school belonging and self-esteem cannot be considered mediators. Self-esteem significantly predicts achievement, whereas school belonging does not. Methods Data was collected from students in grades 4, 7, and 10 (N = 268). Students who returned consent forms indicating parent permission were administered the measures during a regular class period. Measures To determine students’ levels of participation in extracurricular activities, a method similar to that used by Eccles and colleagues (e.g., Barber et al., 2001; Eccles et al., 2003) was used. Students were provided with lists of sports and clubs and indicated which, if any, they participated in. A frequency count was created for extracurricular activities by adding together the number of sports and clubs each student participated in overall. Achievement levels were assessed through self-report of grades. The Piers-Harris Children’s Self-Concept Scale, Second Edition (Piers & Harris, 2002) was used to assess students’ self-esteem. Students’ levels of school belonging were assessed via the Psychological Sense of School Membership (Goodenow, 1993). Data Analysis All analyses controlled for student’s race, gender, and type of household (i.e., one versus two parent). Analyses were run separately for each grade level. Four regression models were run to test for mediation by school belonging and self-esteem as follows: Model 1 examined the link between extracurricular activities and achievement. Model 2 added self-esteem to Model 1 to test for mediation. Model 3 added school belonging to Model 1 to test for mediation. Model 4 included both self-esteem and school belonging to determine which mediator accounted for more variance. Also run (but not shown) was a model examining the link between extracurricular activities and each mediator, as needed for mediation to occur (Baron & Kenny, 1986).                                         Note: *p < .05, **p < .01, ***p < .001. a 1 = Male, 2 = female; b 0 = one-parent, 1 = two-parent; c 0 = White, 1 = other race                                                       Regression Analyses Testing Mediation of the Link between Extracurricular Activities and Achievement by Self-Esteem and School Belonging for Seventh Graders (N = 87) Variable Model 1 Model 2 Model 3 Model 4 B SE B β Β Student sexa .75 .32 .23* .61 .30 .19* .74 .31 .64 .20* # of parents in householdb .56 .50 .11 .45 .46 .09 .34 .48 .07 .41 .08 Student racec .06 .35 .02 -.03 -.01 -.10 .33 -.07 -.02 Total activities .13 .04 .31** .10 .19 Self-esteem .45*** .05 .37* School belonging .82 .24 .35*** .26 Constant 5.53 .71 2.84 .90 2.86 1.02 2.31 .99 R² .18 4.37 7.90 .28 6.32 6.66 F-Ratio Participation in extracurricular activities is positively related to achievement for seventh graders (p < .01). Self-esteem and school belonging fully mediate the relationship between extracurricular activities and achievement. However, school belonging is no longer significant when self-esteem is included. References Barber, B. L., Eccles, J. S., & Stone, M. R. (2001). Whatever happened to the jock, the brain, and the princess? Young adult pathways linked to adolescent activity involvement and social identity. Journal of Adolescent Research, 16, 429-455. Baron, R. M., & Kenny, D. A. (1986). The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 1173-1182. Bowker, A. (2006). The relationship between sports participation and self-esteem during early adolescence. Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science, 38, 214-229. Eccles, J. S., & Barber, B. L.. (1999). Student council, volunteering, basketball, or marching band: What kind of extracurricular involvement matters? 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Note: *p < .05, **p < .01, ***p < .001. a 1 = Male, 2 = female; b 0 = one-parent, 1 = two-parent; c 0 = White, 1 = other race Regression Analyses Testing Mediation of the Link between Extracurricular Activities and Achievement by Self-Esteem and School Belonging for 10th Graders (N = 94) Participation in extracurricular activities is positively related to achievement for 10th graders (p < .01). Self-esteem fully mediates the relationship between activities and achievement. However, self-esteem is no longer significant when school belonging is included. The relationship between activities and school belonging was not significant; thus, school belonging cannot be considered a mediator. Variable Model 1 Model 2 Model 3 Model 4 B SE B β Β Student sexa .31 .32 .10 .47 .15 .37 .30 .12 .43 .14 # of parents in householdb .27 .44 .06 .40 .42 .09 .45 .11 Student racec -.08 -.02 -.20 -.04 -.13 -.03 -.17 Total activities .17 .29** .20 .24* .21* Self-esteem .05 .02 .29*** .03 School belonging .70 .22 .32* .53 .26 Constant 5.88 .69 3.04 1.22 2.33 1.26 R² 2.51 3.69 4.32 .21 3.84 F-Ratio Note: *p < .05, **p < .01, ***p < .001. a 1 = Male, 2 = female; b 0 = one-parent, 1 = two-parent; c 0 = White, 1 = other race