Extracurricular Activities—Extra Beneficial: The Role of Motivation for Extracurricular Activities on Outcomes in High‐School Students

ABSTRACT Introduction There is growing interest in the developmental consequences of extracurricular activities. While past research has mostly focused on the direct effect of extracurricular activities on outcomes (Farb and Matjasko 2012; Marsh and Kleitman 2002), the current study used a Self‐Determination Theory (SDT) framework to test a serial mediation model in which self‐determined motivation for extracurricular activities was positively associated with indicators of students' functioning through the mediating role of self‐determined school motivation and psychological need satisfaction in school. Moreover, the current study aimed at testing SDT's claim that psychological need satisfaction is universally applicable across contexts and cultures. Method A total of 886 high‐school students ( M age  = 14.95, SD age  = 1.77) from China ( n  = 267), USA ( n  = 281), Canada ( n  = 195), and France ( n  = 143) completed a questionnaire assessing motivation for extracurricular activity and school‐related variables including motivation, need satisfaction, mood, stress, perceptions of overscheduling, and intentions to dropout. Teacher reports of students' motivation, self‐efficacy, optimism, and missed school days were collected for a subsample of Canadian, American, and French students ( n  = 219). Results Findings of a cross‐sectional mediation model revealed that across cultures, self‐determined motivation for extracurricular activities was positively associated with indicators of academic functioning for student and teacher‐rated outcomes through the mediating effects of self‐determined academic motivation and psychological need satisfaction in school. Conclusion These findings underscore the importance of students' perceptions of motivation and psychological need satisfaction in demonstrating how extracurricular activities may be positively related to school functioning across cultures.