How Effective is Afterschool Programs on At-Risk Youth?

How Effective Is Afterschool Programs on At-Risk Youth?
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How Effective Is Afterschool Programs on At-Risk Youth
The article, "Leveraging After School Programs to Minimize Risks for Internalizing Symptoms among Urban Youth: Weaving Together Music Education and Social Development" by Hedemann & Frazier (2016) examines the efficacy of a university-community partnership focusing on enhancing mental health among students from poor backgrounds through an afterschool music program. One-hundred and sixty-two youths with high anxiety and depression symptoms participated in the afterschool music program that provided opportunities for learning and developing social-emotional competencies. Results revealed fewer internalizing symptoms and reduced depression and anxiety levels among youths. The evidence presented in the study is relevant in that it demonstrates the efficacy of planned afterschool programs in alleviating mental health issues among at-risk students. It is also valid since the results correspond to fundamental characteristics in the social world: the study measured what it initially aimed at measuring. The study findings are also applicable to the design of afterschool programs to meet the mental health needs of at-risk students. The study is founded on the music-based emotion regulation theory, which suggests four emotion regulation approaches to reducing depression and anxiety symptoms: cognitive stimulation, intentional selection, social interaction, and attentional control. Music education was incorporated into the afterschool program to promote mental health among poor learners with depression and anxiety symptoms.
The study used the quantitative research design where the RCADS-25, SDQ, SSIS, HSCL-25, and ERQ-CA informant-report tools were used to collect data from youths participating in the afterschool music program. Data analysis was performed using the SPSS software tool. It also employed the post-evaluation design: the quantitative research design was appropriate since the purpose of the study was to determine the efficacy of an afterschool program designed to improve social-emotional competencies among a large group of learners. It also allowed for objectivity, accuracy, and generalizability of results. The study results can be integrated into similar afterschool programs. The article outlines how educators can incorporate activity engagement and behavior management, over and above, activities that promote learning and practice of social-emotional skills into curriculum content. One limitation of the study was its potential selection bias when selecting study participants: the study sample was significantly smaller than the number of students in the afterschool music program. Another weakness of the study was its overreliance on relaxation and feelings identification during emotion regulation training at the expense of cognitive coping. Future studies can investigate other cognitive coping activities that can help improve at-risk students' mental health or enhance stakeholder enthusiasm in socio-emotional afterschool programs.
The article, "Linking Mental Health and After School Systems for Children in U...