The longitudinal effects of after-school program experiences, quantity, and regulatable features on children's social¬タモemotional development

a r t i c l e i n f o Keywords: After-school programs Child–caregiver relationships Developmental outcomes Experiences of 298 children with their caregivers in after-school programs (ASPs) were examined as predictors of social–emotional functioning across the first through fifth grade. Moderating effects of previous social–emotional problems, child gender, family income, quantity of care, and program regulatable features were also estimated. On average, ASP experiences negatively predicted externalizing problems and positively predicted social self-control and assertion. Interestingly, positive ASP experiences did not predict decreased externalizing behaviors, but instead children with negative experiences had higher levels of externalizing behavior problems. Changes in ASP experiences positively predicted changes in self-control scores, but only for boys. Finally, staff experience, staff wages, and changes in child-to-caregiver ratios predicted children's ASP experiences and levels of social– emotional development. Participation in after-school programs has increased dramatically , from 6.5 million children in 2004 to over 8 million children in 2009 (Afterschool Alliance, 2009). Further, parents of another 18.5 million children indicate they would enroll their child in an after-school program if one was available (Afterschool Alliance, 2009). In response to this high demand, increases in after-school program funding have been dramatic during the last decade, with federal funding increasing from $40 million in 1998 to $1.154 billion in 2011 (Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, 2011). This funding stream, devoted to 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) that provide safe places for children to go in their communities during after-school hours, has allowed for a striking increase in the number of programs available to families (Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, 2011). Along with this increase in funding, however, has been an increase in demand for evaluative evidence that after-school programs are providing support for positive child development. Researchers often propose that children involved in after-school programs are exposed to situations in which they can practice their social skills through peer interactions, and develop relationships with responsible, caring adults, all of which support positive youth devel-In addition, researchers hypothesize that after-school caregivers may also provide the emotional and social support some children are not receiving at home, hence serving as a protective factor for children from high-However, research findings from studies exploring the effects of after-school programs on children's social–emotional development have been unexpectedly mixed. Although after-school program participation has been linked with positive behavioral and social development (e., there have also been notable studies that failed to …