Developing life skills is a key element of 4-H programming, but research on the impact of 4-H on life skill development is minimal. 4-H alumni and volunteers were surveyed to explore the question "Does involvement in 4-H Youth Development programs help youth learn and use specific life skills?" 4-H alumni identified life skills learned through 4-H participation from a list of choices and in an open-ended format. Volunteers agreed that life skills were learned, although their assessment of specific skills differed from that of alumni. Findings indicate that long-term impacts of 4-H membership exist and can be measured.
Fitzpatrick et al. (Wed,) studied this question.