Active 4-H'ers Excel!

Active 4-H'ers Excel! (PDF)

A ground-breaking national study has confirmed what we already knew: Kids who are active 4-H members excel in leadership and volunteer service. Equally important, active 4-H’ers report fewer unhealthy behaviors such as drinking, smoking, and other drug use. That’s good news for parents, community leaders, and citizens.

“The 4-H Study of Positive Youth Development is helping us understand the kinds of experiences, opportunities, and support that young people need to be healthy and thrive,” said Dr. Ina Linville, Director of the Missouri 4-H Youth Development program at the University of Missouri. “This research will benefit all young people, not just 4-H members.”

Linville says that the 4-H Study began at the national level in 2002. Since then, nearly 5,000 adolescents from 34 states have been surveyed. In 2007, 338 Missouri youth at 21 sites around the state were surveyed. According to Dr. Jo Turner, 4-H Study director in Missouri, the Missouri students were evenly divided between 4-H and non-4-H participants. Most were in the 8th or 9th grades.

“Among Missouri students, we’ve found some significant differences between active 4-H participants and non-4-H’ers,” said Turner. “Most importantly, active 4-H’ers have higher scores on contribution or service, more leadership experiences, and more adult mentors. Plus, they have lower scores on unhealthy behaviors. Clearly, 4-H is a good investment for kids, parents, and civic leaders. ” Turner said that for this study, active 4-H participation was defined as participating in a 4-H activity at least twice a month. (See graphs below.)

According to Linville and Turner, the Missouri results confirm the national findings. The national study is following young people over time to track patterns of growth and change. For youth who had participated in 4-H at some point during 5-8th grades, researchers report that 4-H Youth were 3.5 times more likely to be at highest levels of Contribution. Contribution is a measure of volunteering and service activities. At the other end of the spectrum, 4-H Youth were 1.3 times more likely to have lower scores on measures of risk behaviors and depression.

The national 4-H Study of Positive Youth Development is funded by National 4-H Council and lead by researchers at Tufts University. The University of Missouri, Lincoln University, and other land-grant universities are partners in the research. Plans are to continue surveying these youth through high school and into college. After the first four years, Dr. Richard Lerner, director of the national study concluded, “The true value of 4-H programs comes not from short-term results or event the effects over a few years. It comes from the programs’ influence on lifelong pathways of development.”

For more information, see 4-H Study of Positive Youth Development.

Graph 3 - Wave 5, Missouri Sample - Contribution

Graph 4 - Wave 5, Missouri Sample - Number of Positive Adult Mentors

Graph 5 - Wave 5, Missouri Sample – Risk Behaviors and Leadership Experiences