Trajectories of Breadth of Participation in Organized Activity During Childhood

Abstract

This study aimed to identify the trajectories of breadth of participation in organized activities during childhood and to examine the predictors of membership in these trajectories (child's individual and family characteristics measured in Kindergarten). A sample of 1038 children, recruited in Kindergarten, was assessed yearly between Kindergarten and grade 4. Semiparametric group‐based modeling brought out four trajectories: the no participation group (13.5 percent), the increasing group (26.4 percent), the decreasing group (14.1 percent), and the high group (46.1 percent). Prosociality predicted membership in the no participation group, as compared with the increasing group. Social withdrawal predicted membership in the no participation group, as compared with the high group. High family income and higher maternal education predicted membership in the increasing, decreasing, and high trajectory groups, as compared with the no participation group. Higher paternal education predicted membership in the high group, as compared with the increasing group. Overall, family variables had a greater impact than individual variables on the probability that the child would participate in a broader range of organized activities.