ERIC Identifier: ED455975
Publication Date: 2001-09-00
Author: Patten, Peggy - Robertson, Anne S.
Source: ERIC Clearinghouse on Elementary and Early Childhood
Education Champaign IL.
Focus on After-School Time for Violence Prevention. ERIC Digest.
THIS DIGEST WAS CREATED BY ERIC, THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER. FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT ERIC, CONTACT ACCESS ERIC 1-800-LET-ERIC
An estimated eight million school-age children are home alone after
school (U.S. Department of Education, 2001). These are the hours
when violent juvenile crime peaks and when youth are most likely to
experiment with alcohol, tobacco, drugs, and sex (Snyder & Sickmund,
1999). Although many older children care for themselves after school
for an hour or two until a parent comes home, research suggests that
some of these children are at risk for poor grades and risky
behavior (Pettit et al., 1997, p. 517; National Institute on
Out-of-School Time, 2001, p. 2; Dwyer, et al., 1990). This Digest
discusses the role of after-school programs, adult-child
relationships, and parental monitoring in violence prevention for
middle and high school youth.
AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAMS AND CRIME
REDUCTION
After-school programs help to reduce juvenile crime and
violence because they offer alternative activities for children and
youth during their out-of-school time. Several studies support the
hypothesis that participation in youth development programs
decreases involvement in unhealthy and high-risk activities (Quinn,
1999, pp. 111-112). Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, a national
organization of police chiefs, sheriffs, police association
presidents, prosecutors, and crime survivors, draws on outcome data
from high-quality youth development programs to encourage public
investment in high-quality after-school and summer programs for
youth. This anti-crime organization reports that high-quality youth
development programs provide "responsible adult supervision,
constructive activities, and insulation from deleterious pressure
from peers and older children during high-risk hours" (Fox & Newman,
1997, p. 4). ADULT-CHILD RELATIONSHIPS AND CRIME REDUCTION
In
addition to helping youth make constructive use of after-school
hours, after-school programs provide teens with opportunities to
develop caring relationships with adults. Supportive adult-child
relationships are a central component of high-quality after-school
programs (Roth et al., 1998, pp. 435-436). Research on
resilience (often defined as the ability to face, overcome, and be
strengthened by adversity) in children identifies "protective
factors" in the family, school, and community environments that can
help reverse or minimize what otherwise might be poor outcomes for
children (Bushweller, 1995). Caring and supportive relationships are
cited as a critical protective factor for youth (Masten &
Coatsworth, 1998). Other research has found similar effects of
constructive adult-child relationships. In surveys of more than
100,000 youth in 200 communities, the SEARCH Institute found that
high-quality relationships with parents and other adults,
accompanied by constructive uses of time, are critical for healthy
youth development. Relationships were among the 40 critical factors,
or "assets," identified by SEARCH in its surveys, that appeared to
help prevent risky behaviors among youth (Benson et al., 1998;
Roehlkepartain, 1998). A study of Chicago neighborhoods also showed
benefits of reduced overall violence, even in poor neighborhoods,
when community residents increased their level of positive
involvement with children (Sampson & Morenoff, 1997).
OPTIONS FOR
AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAMMING
After-school programming can range from
a group of teens hanging out at a friend's house and playing
basketball when a parent or other responsible adult is home, to more
formal after-school activities, including "drop-in" programs that
are provided by community organizations, licensed programs with
highly structured curricula offered through schools, and
neighborhood programs that integrate school and community
resources (Gootman, 2000). Increased federal support for
after-school programs through the U.S. Department of Education's
21st Century Community Learning Centers initiative has greatly
expanded the number of after-school programs in public school
settings around the country (U.S. Department of Education,
2001). After-school programs for youth are sponsored by a diverse
array of organizations and may be difficult for parents to find.
Public libraries, YMCAs, Boys and Girls Clubs, and local child care
resource and referral agencies (CCR&Rs) can help parents find
after-school options in their community. CCR&Rs also often have
information on how to know when a child is ready for self-care and
can suggest resources to prepare a child to be on his or her own. To
find local CCR&Rs, parents can call Child Care Aware at
1-800-424-2246.
PARENTAL MONITORING AND CRIME REDUCTION
Despite
the potential benefits of after-school programs, there are many
reasons why parents do not use them. Programs may be unavailable,
unaffordable, or of poor quality (Larner et al., 1999). Older
children and young teens may refuse to attend programs that resemble
child care. Parents may feel uncertain about how much freedom is
appropriate for children and youth who are beyond the traditional
child care years. The Research Institute on Addictions suggests that
children raised in a family that is emotionally supportive and that
actively monitors its children will have lower levels of problem
behaviors (Barnes, 1995, p. 1). High levels of parental
monitoring-defined as "parents' knowledge of their child's
whereabouts, activities, and friends" (Jacobson & Crockett, 2000, p.
66)-are associated with greater academic achievement, lower levels
of depression, lower levels of antisocial or delinquent behavior,
and lower levels of sexual behavior (Jacobson & Crockett, 2000, p.
90). In situations where older children are home alone, studies
indicate that when parental monitoring is provided, children in
self-care are less likely to participate in risk-taking
behaviors (Roth & Brooks-Gunn, 2000, p. 6). Parental monitoring does
not mean that parents have to be a constant physical presence in
their child's world. Consistent, firm control and monitoring can
occur from a distance (Roth & Brooks-Gunn, 2000, p. 6). If older
children are at home alone after school, it is important that a
parent is available to provide remote supervision with phone calls
or regular discussions of after-school plans (Steinberg & Levine,
1997). Although middle and high school youth may think they are
autonomous and rebel at times against parental monitoring, parents
remain responsible for supervising their teenagers (Roth &
Brooks-Gunn, 2000, p. 6). In a series of group interviews
commissioned by the Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development,
young people reported wanting safe places to be with caring adults
and other young people (Quinn, 1999, p. 97). This preference
for "learning, growth, structure, and safety" was also voiced by 800
teens in the Community Counts Project, a study of 120 youth-based
organizations in 34 cities (DeAngelis, 2001, p.
61).
CONCLUSION
After-school hours are prime times for youth to
be victims or perpetrators of juvenile crime and to experiment with
health-compromising behaviors such as tobacco, alcohol, and
marijuana use, and early sexual activity (Snyder & Sickmund, 1999;
Fox & Newman, 1997). Supervised after-school programs can reduce
juvenile crime and involvement in risk-taking behaviors by providing
youth with constructive activities and opportunities to develop
healthy relationships with adults. It is especially helpful when
parents remain psychologically available to monitor their teenagers'
activities and friends even when older youth are ready to be home
alone after school hours (Jacobson & Crockett, 2000). Beneath the
cool veneer of many adolescents is the need to feel connected to and
cared about by their parents and other significant adults. Research
supports the effectiveness of these strategies in protecting middle
and high school youth from risk and from harm (Roth & Brooks-Gunn,
2000). FOR MORE INFORMATION
Barnes, G. (1995). Parents can help
prevent teen alcohol, drug use. Support, monitoring key to
prevention, study finds. RESEARCH IN BRIEF [Online]. Available:
http://www.ria.org/ summaries/rib/rib955.html. Benson, P. L.,
Galbraith, J., & Espeland, P. (1998). WHAT KIDS NEED TO SUCCEED:
PROVEN, PRACTICAL WAYS TO RAISE GOOD KIDS. Minneapolis, MN: Free
Spirit. ED 423 076.
Bushweller, K. (1995). The resilient child.
AMERICAN SCHOOL BOARD JOURNAL, 182(5), 18-23. EJ 502
924.
DeAngelis, T. (2001). What makes a good afterschool program?
MONITOR ON PSYCHOLOGY, 32(3), 60-62.
Dwyer, K. M., Richardson, J.
L., Danley, K. L., Hansen, W. B., Sussman, S. Y., Brannon, B., Dent,
C. W., Johnson, C. A., & Flay, B. R. (1990). Characteristics of
eighth-grade students who initiate self-care in elementary and
junior high school. PEDIATRICS, 86(3), 448-454.
Fox, J. A., &
Newman, S. A. (1997). AFTER-SCHOOL CRIME OR AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAMS:
TUNING INTO THE PRIME TIME FOR VIOLENT JUVENILE CRIME AND
IMPLICATIONS FOR NATIONAL POLICY. A REPORT TO THE UNITED STATES
ATTORNEY GENERAL. Washington, DC: Fight Crime: Invest in Kids. ED
412 319.
Gootman, J. A. (Ed.). (2000). AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAMS TO
PROMOTE CHILD AND ADOLESCENT DEVELOPMENT: SUMMARY OF A WORKSHOP.
Washington, DC: National Academy. ED 446 849.
Jacobson, K. C., &
Crockett, L. J. (2000). Parental monitoring and adolescent
adjustment: An ecological perspective. JOURNAL OF RESEARCH ON
ADOLESCENCE, 10(1), 65-97. EJ 599 939.
Larner, M. B., Zippiroli,
L., & Behrman, R. E. (1999). When school is out: Analysis and
recommendations. FUTURE OF CHILDREN, 9(2), 4-20. EJ 600
557.
Masten, A. S., & Coatsworth, D. J. (1998). The development of
competence in favorable and unfavorable environments. AMERICAN
PSYCHOLOGIST, 53(2), 205-220.
National Institute on Out-of-School
Time. (2001). FACT SHEET ON SCHOOL-AGE CHILDREN'S OUT-OF-SCHOOL
TIME [Online]. Available:
http://www.wellesley.edu/WCW/CRW/SAC/factsht.html.
Pettit, G. S.,
Laird, R. D., Dodge, K. A., & Bates, J. E. (1997). Patterns of
after-school care in middle childhood: Risk factors and
developmental outcomes. MERRILL-PALMER QUARTERLY, 43(3), 515-538. EJ
554 329.
Quinn, J. (1999). Where need meets opportunity: Youth
development programs for early teens. FUTURE OF CHILDREN, 9(2),
96-116. EJ 600 565.
Roehlkepartain, E. C. (1998). Building assets
in congregations. Minneapolis, MN: SEARCH Institute.
Roth, J., &
Brooks-Gunn, J. (2000). What do adolescents need for healthy
development? Implications for youth policy. SOCIAL POLICY REPORT,
14(1), 3-19.
Roth, J., Brooks-Gunn, J., Murray, L., & Foster,
W. (1998). Promoting healthy adolescents: Synthesis of youth
development program evaluations. JOURNAL OF RESEARCH ON ADOLESCENCE,
8(4), 423-459. EJ 576 149.
Sampson, R. J., & Morenoff, J.
D. (1997). Ecological perspectives on the neighborhood context of
urban poverty: Past and present. In J. Brooks-Gunn, G. J. Duncan, &
J. L. Aber (Eds.), NEIGHBORHOOD POVERTY: VOL. 2. POLICY IMPLICATIONS
IN STUDYING NEIGHBORHOODS (pp. 1-22). New York: Russell Sage. ED 427
120.
Snyder, H. N., & Sickmund, M. (1999). JUVENILE OFFENDERS AND
VICTIMS: 1999 NATIONAL REPORT. Washington, DC: Office of Juvenile
Justice and Delinquency Programs. ED 435 888.
Steinberg, L., &
Levine, A. (1997). YOU AND YOUR ADOLESCENT: A PARENT'S GUIDE FOR
AGES 10-20. Dunmore, PA: HarperCollins. ED 408 108.
U.S.
Department of Education. (2001). 21st Century Community Learning
Centers [Online]. Available:
http://www.ed.gov/21stcclc/.
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ERIC Digests are in the
public domain and may be freely reproduced.
This project has been
funded at least in part with Federal Funds from the U.S. Department
of Education, Office of Educational Research and Improvement, under
contract number ED-99-CO-0020. The content of this publication does
not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the U.S. Department
of Education, nor does mention of trade names, commercial products,
or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.
Title: Focus on After-School Time for Violence Prevention. ERIC Digest.
Document Type: Information Analyses---ERIC Information Analysis Products (IAPs) (071); Information Analyses---ERIC Digests (Selected) in Full Text (073);
Available From: ERIC Clearinghouse on Elementary and Early Childhood Education,
Children's Research Center, University of Illinois, 51 Gerty Dr.,
Champaign, IL 61820-7469. Tel: 800-583-4135 (Toll Free); Tel:
217-333-1386; Fax: 217-333-3767; Web site: http://ericeece.org;
e-mail: ericeece@uiuc.edu. For full text:
http://ericeece.org/pubs/digests.html.
Descriptors: Adolescents, Adult Child Relationship, After School Programs,
Children, Delinquency, Delinquency Prevention, Prevention, Violence
Identifiers: ERIC Digests, Parental Supervision
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