Publication type
Report
Author
Publication date
February 1, 2024
Summary:
Our research used five datasets to explore the effects of weekly participation in youth clubs on outcomes later in life. Four of the five datasets are longitudinal studies; the fifth is a rolling annual survey. The studies cover different generations of young people from the 1970s to 2000s, and the timing of outcome measurements reflects this.
There is a clear association between participation in youth provision and positive short-term outcomes relating to physical health and wellbeing, pro-social behaviours and education. There is also strong evidence that these short-term outcomes are sustained over decades, and compared with non-participants, people who attended youth clubs continue to score more highly for several of these indicators of wellbeing.
The proportion of young people who participate in youth clubs weekly has increased over time, from c. 20% (the 1970 British Cohort Study) to c. 35% (the Millennium Cohort Study (MCS) and UK Household Longitudinal Study (UKHLS)), possibly because recent datasets adopted a wider definition of ‘youth activity’ as in-person clubs, scouts, girl guides and other enrichment activities.
The Youth Evidence Base comprises three studies:
The first 'Youth provision and life outcomes: A study of longitudinal research' analyses five different longitudinal datasets, and finds a clear association between participation in youth provision and positive short- and longer-term outcomes relating to physical health and wellbeing, pro-social behaviours and education
Subjects
Link
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/youth-provision-and-life-outcomes-research
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