| Resilience refers to a dynamic process encompassing positive adaption within the context of significant adversity. Implicit within this notion are two critical conditions: (1) exposure to significant threat or severe adversity; and (2) the achievement of positive adaptation despite such threats or adversity. A large number of children are exposed to marked psychosocial and environmental stressors in their lives, particularly during the "critical hours" immediately following the end of the school day. As a result, afterschool programs have proliferated in the United States. An important question, however, remains: do these programs contribute to the resiliency of youth exposed to significant adversity? The proposed study is part of a larger ongoing research study on the effects of the SquashSmarts program on academic and social variables. The study followed participants in the program for three years to appraise whether there was a difference in the effects of the program on the academic and social variables over time. This study also compared the program participants to a comparison group consisting of youth matched for school and age. Contrary to predictions, SquashSmarts participants did not improve on academic or social variables over the three years of participation in the program when compared to the comparison group. SquashSmarts did show some improvements on the academic and social variables but not at a significantly greater rate than the control group. Thus, these gains in protective factors could be due simply to age, development and maturity as opposed to the program itself. These results are discussed as well as implications for future outcome studies on afterschool programs. Additionally, implications for future research as well as policy and practice are discussed. |
