Denise Wilson

This study tested the effectiveness of a prevention curriculum, All Stars, as implemented in a year-long school-based after school program and provides an independent replication of the effects of All Stars on targeted mediators and problem behaviors using an experimental methodology. Middle school students (N = 447) who registered for the after school program were randomly assigned to the experimental or control condition. The sample included approximately equal proportions of males and females, was 70% African American, and 59% of the students received subsidized meals at school. All Stars was delivered with reasonable integrity to the program design, although with lower quality than reported in earlier efficacy trials. However, actual student exposure to the program was lower than expected due to low levels of attendance in the after school program. Students who ever attended received an average of 16 h of All Stars instruction. Results showed no differences between the treatment and control students at post-test on any of the outcomes or mediators. Further, no positive effects were found for youths receiving higher dosage, higher quality program delivery, or both. Insufficient time to achieve high quality implementation in the after school context and potential deviancy training are suggested as reasons for the failure to replicate positive program effects.

Pursuing the American Dream uses the most current data to measure mobility by family income, wealth, and personal earnings to reveal how closely tied a person’s place on the economic ladder is to that of his or her parents’. While a majority of Americans exceed their parents’ family income and wealth, the extent of their absolute mobility gains are not always enough to move them to a different rung of the economic ladder. Measuring both absolute and relative mobility, some of the highlights of the research include: Eighty-four percent of Americans have higher family incomes than their parents did. However, those born at the top and bottom of the income ladder are likely to stay there as adults. Over 40 percent of Americans raised in the bottom quintile of the family income ladder remain stuck there adults, and 70 percent remain below the middle. African Americans are still less likely to exceed their parents’ income than are whites and they are more likely to be stuck at the bottom ...

Leisure activities that occur outside of the school hours may facilitate positive youth development.The experiences of youth in three categories of activities (basketball and football, other sports, and nonsports) are examined in this study. Based on prior research, it is hypothesized that students participating in basketball and football will experience more negative outcomes (i.e., problem behaviors, fewer positive peer influences, and lower academic achievement). Furthermore, specific experiences in these leisure activities are explored as potential mediators of the effects of participation. Results indicate that basketball and football participation is related to more negative experiences and outcomes, but these differences reflect selection of more at-risk youths into these activities. Implications of the findings are discussed.