Objective This study examined the nature and extent of parental participation in the process of adolescents joining an organized program and identify factors underlying variations in overarching patterns of participation. Background Adolescents become increasingly interested in making their own choices and decisions. Thus, families must balance parental goals and adolescents' desire for autonomy in their social activities. Method Interviews were conducted with 62 adolescent program participants and 52 parents. Data analyses followed an inductive approach to identify emergent patterns in the data. Results We identified four roles parents played at the time their adolescent joined a program: emotional supporter, manager, informant, and instrumental supporter. Further, analyses revealed variations in roles and level of involvement related to adolescent age and ethnicity, as well as gaps between adolescent and parent perspectives. Overarching variations in parental engagement (the extent to which parents exerted influence during the joining process) were linked to parent, adolescent, and program factors. Conclusion Findings indicate that a multitude of factors intersect and shape whether and how parents attempt to influence the joining process and manage adolescents' social activities. Implications Our findings can be used by program administrators and youth leaders to strengthen outreach and recruitment efforts with adolescents from ethnically and socioeconomically diverse family backgrounds.

This study examined how adolescents recall and interpret caregivers’ personal stories about a difficult time. Respondents were 49 ethnically diverse adolescents ( M = 15.76 years; 63% girls; 53% from immigrant families). Analyses examined story features (topic, narrator, elaboration, and meaning) and variations due to gender, age, and immigrant background. Four overarching topic categories were identified: family hardship (39.5%), caregiver’s personal problems (25.6%), family interactions and dynamics (20.9%), and interpersonal situations outside family (14%). Youth extracted a variety of personal lessons from caregiver stories, with meanings differing across some topic categories (e.g., stories about family hardship typically emphasized that youth should persevere/work hard). Story features differed based on characteristics of storyteller and listener, particularly gender and immigrant background. For example, adolescents (particularly girls) were most likely to narrate a story heard from their mother, and more boys than girls retold stories emphasizing perseverance and hard work. Adolescents from immigrant families told stories that were more elaborated than those told by nonimmigrant youth, and stories told by caregivers reflected unique life experiences and goals. Findings contribute to the literature on family storytelling and have implications for future research and practice with diverse populations.

This qualitative study explored immigrant Latinx parents’ views of the role organized youth activities play in their children’s cultural socialization. Respondents were 29 Latinx caregivers of adolescents participating in 13 project-based youth programs. Most caregivers were female ( n = 25) and biological parents ( n = 27); all were born outside the United States (83% in Mexico). Caregivers participated in structured open-ended interviews, which were analyzed using a consensual inductive approach. Although the programs did not focus primarily on cultural issues, two thirds of the caregivers discussed cultural elements relating to their child’s program participation. Three dimensions were identified that reflected how youth programs supported adolescents’ socialization: (a) Latinx socialization, (b) multicultural socialization, and (c) civic socialization. Collectively, these different types of socialization provide youth with skills for living in a diverse society. Parents’ views of cultural socialization as a multifaceted process are consistent with the growing consensus that successful adaptation for children of immigrants involves maintaining connections with the family’s heritage culture (enculturation) while developing skills to function in larger society (acculturation). By acknowledging culture as a salient dimension for Latinx youth from immigrant families, program effectiveness can be increased for all youth.

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This study investigated the goals adolescents and parents have for the adolescent’s participation in an organized youth program. Open-ended interviews were conducted with 52 adolescents from 13 project-based youth programs and one of their caregivers. Adolescents (aged 13–18; 56% female) were ethnically diverse (46% Latinx, 29% European American, 19% African American, and 6% other). Caregivers ( M age 43.15 years) were predominantly female (80%) and biological or adoptive parents (94%); about half had been born in the United States. Qualitative and quantitative analyses were conducted to examine goal content and congruence between adolescents and parents. Interview data were inductively coded following a consensus team approach. Thirteen goal categories were identified: nine were described by both adolescents and parents (e.g., skill-building and socialization) and two were unique to adolescents and two to parents. More than half (56%) of adolescent-parent dyads reported at least one matching goal. In general, adolescents tended to emphasize short-term objectives and parents long-term outcomes. Collectively, findings indicate that adolescents and their parents view organized programs as salient contexts to pursue youth’s personal goals. Findings have implications for theory, research, and practice.