Promoting interpersonal competence and educational success through extracurricular activity participation.

This longitudinal study investigated consistent participation in extracurricular activities as a contributor to long-term educational success. Participants were 695 boys and girls who were interviewed annually to the end of high school and again at age 20. Family economic status, interpersonal competence, and educational aspirations during adolescence were used to assess educational status at young adulthood. Consistent extracurricular activity participation across adolescence on the educational attainment process was examined. Consistent extracurricular activity participation was associated with high educational status at young adulthood, including college attendance. Educational status was, in turn, linked to reciprocal positive changes between extracurricular activity participation and interpersonal competence, and to educational aspirations across adolescence. Findings were most apparent for students with below-average interpersonal competence. In this investigation we examined the role of adolescent extra-curricular activity participation in the process of long-term educa-tional attainment. Our thesis was that consistent participation in extracurricular activities would promote interpersonal competence and personal initiative, which lay the groundwork for achieving