Adolescent Predictors to Program Satisfaction

Although ample research has examined motivation and engagement factors that predict program satisfaction, studies examining adolescent perspectives are limited (Ingoldsby, 2010; Nock & Ferriter, 2005). Peers become particularly salient during adolescence, and several studies find that adolescents may face adverse psychological outcomes when they deviate from the norms set by their peers (e.g., Morales-Chicas & Graham, 2016). For example, as deviation from their ethnic group BMI norm increased, girls reported greater social anxiety, depression, peer victimization, lower self-worth, and had lower peer-reported social status (Lanza, Echols, & Graham, 2012). In the same way, intervention groups may create their own norms, depending on the adolescents who attend. This study seeks to understand how adolescents’ deviation from the norm of their intervention group impacts their program satisfaction.

This study draws from an intervention that focused on Mexican-origin families, and has shown long-term adaptive outcomes (e.g., mental health, academic achievement) (Gonzales et al., 2004). Given the focus of the intervention program, and the focus on this developmental period, we examined deviation from the group norm in three domains: academic motivation, psychological wellbeing, and social capacity (enculturation and peer competence). Specifically, we examined seventh grade adolescents (N= 294, 49% female; M_age = 12.33) who participated in at least one of nine sessions in the randomized clinical trial of a prevention program. Adolescents reported their school attachment, externalizing, Mexican-orientation and familism, and peer competence.

All individual reports were group-mean centered to examine whether adolescents’ deviation from their group norm predicted program satisfaction. Analyses revealed that deviating from the intervention group norm predicted program satisfaction after controlling for adolescent gender, parental education, and language of the intervention group (Spanish or English) in which their parents enrolled. Specifically, students’ deviation from their group norms in terms of school attachment (ß = .16, p < .001), Mexican-orientation (ß = .13, p = .013), familism (ß = .20, p = .002) and peer competence (ß = .13, p = .029) were positively associated with program satisfaction; deviation in externalizing (ß = -.01, p < .001) was negatively associated with program satisfaction. Our findings suggest that intervention groups may create their own norms, and that deviation from the group norm may be an important factor for program satisfaction. We will also examine generalizability of these findings for girls and boys in this study.