Personal Values and Youth Involvement S. Mark Pancer, Wilfrid Laurier University and The Centre of Excellence for Youth Engagement Waterloo, Ontario, Canada Value IndexSample Item Social JusticeFair and just (treat all people equally; don’t put people down) CitizenshipGood citizen (work with others to make the world a better place) AchievementCareer success (being happy and fulfilled in job) Social AttachmentTrue friendship (have close, supportive friends) Introduction The engagement of youth in activities such as community service and organized sports, arts, political and cultural activities has been associated with significant positive outcomes for young people, including reductions in substance abuse, enhanced academic achievement, and higher levels of social and emotional well-being While much research has focused on the outcomes associated with engagement, little research has attempted to identify the major predictors or determinants of engagement. In the present investigation, we looked at how personal values relate to young people’s involvements. Participants 192 applicants to three Canadian national youth conferences 76.6% female, 23.4% male Mean age – 16.6 years Range of ages – 14 to 19 years English as first language – 96% Method Participants completed a questionnaire either prior to or upon arrival at the conference. Included in the questionnaire were measures of personal values, involvement, and interactions with parents and peers Values Measure (Adapted from Pratt, Hunsberger, Pancer & Alisat, 2003) From a “list of qualities that people might think are important for them in terms of the kind of person they want to become”, respondents were asked to rate each of 20 qualities according to “how important you think it should be in your life” Factor analysis resulted in the development of four value indices: Involvement Measure (Adapted from Pancer, Pratt & Hunsberger, 2000) Respondents were asked to indicate how often they had engaged in several activities over the previous year. Factor analysis resulted in the development of three involvement indices: Involvement IndexSample Item Community ServiceVolunteered with a community service organization Political InvolvementJoined in a protest march, meeting or demonstration Local InvolvementParticipated in an ethnic club or organization Parent and Peer Interaction Measure (Adapted from Pancer, Pratt & Hunsberger, 2000) Results A cluster analysis was conducted, using participants as cases. Cluster analysis identifies cases with similar scores on certain variables (in this case, the four value indices), and then groups these cases together to form clusters. The analysis identified four distinct clusters of respondents: Principled youth had high ratings on all four value indices Achievement-oriented youth had high ratings on the achievement and social justice values, and low ratings on citizenship Civic-minded youth had high ratings on social justice and citizenship Indifferent youth had relatively low ratings on all value indices Mean Cluster Scores on Value Indices Clusters Mean Involvement Scores of Clusters on Different Types of Involvement Clusters Mean Scores of Clusters on Parent and Peer Interaction Indices Clusters Conclusions Youth involvements are related to the values that are important to them Youth who are “principled”, in that they consider a wide range of positive values to be important, and those who are “civic-minded”, considering social justice and citizenship to be important, tend to be more involved Youth who are indifferent to these values tend to be less involved Values are related to the interactions that youth have with parents and peers; civic-minded youth show the highest levels of interaction with their parents; indifferent youth show lower levels of interaction with both parents and peers QuestionWorkSchoolFamilyFriend- ships ValuesSocial Issues How much do you discuss this topic with your parents? How much do you discuss this topic with your friends?