James E Hunt

Interests

Research

Teaching pedagogy, online vs. live course evaluation; adolescent steroid abuse; male body image; adolescent risk taking behaviors; interventions in adolescent behaviors; interpersonal interactions; media as a developmental influence; adolescent aggression, adolescent sexual activity; early childhood and adolescent development; athletic and school participation.

Teaching

Child and adolescent development; adolescent and young adult risk behaviors; program evaluation and implementation; service learning; life-span development; social psychology; research methods; intimate/interpersonal relations; adolescent sexual health and development; development in context; developmental and/or family theories, teaching pedagogy, learner centered teaching, course design, learning assessment.

Courses

Scholarly Contributions

Chapters

• Barber, B. L., Eccles, J. S., Hunt, J. E., & Stone, M. R. (2005).

  Benefits of Activity Participation: The Roles of Identity Affirmation and Peer Group Norm Sharing

  . In Organized activities as contexts of development: Extracurricular activities, after-school and community programs(pp 185-210). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers. doi:10.4324/9781410612748-15
  More info

  The importance of out-of-school time for healthy development has been stressed in recent reports by foundations and researchers (e.g., Carnegie Corporation, 1992; Eccles & Gootman, 2002; Eccles & Templeton, 2002; Larson, 2000). There is good evidence that participating in extracurricular activities is associated with both shortand long-term indicators of positive development during adolescence. Previous research, however, tells us less about the reasons for these associations. Scholars have suggested that activities can (a) help adolescents acquire both the educational credentials and the cognitive skills needed for adult work roles, (b) work through issues of personal and social identity, (c) acquire the inter-personal skills needed to form healthy social relationships and to succeed in the world of work, and (d) refine the emotional and behavioral skills needed to become fully functioning, independent adults.
• Barber, B. L., Stone, M. R., Hunt, J. E., & Eccles, J. S. (2005). Benefits of activity participation: The roles of identity affirmation and peer group norm sharing. In Organized activities as contexts of development: Extracurricular activities, after-school and community programs. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers.
• Hunt, J. E., Barber, B. L., & Banks, S. R. (2005). Sports participation and positive youth development. In Applied developmental science: An encyclopedia of research, policies, and programs. Sage.

Journals/Publications

• Eccles, J. S., Barber, B. L., Stone, M. R., & Hunt, J. E. (2003). Extracurricular activities and adolescent development. Journal of Social Issues, 59(4), 865-889. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1046/j.0022-4537.2003.00095.x
• Hunt, J. E., Stone, M. R., Barber, B. L., & Eccles, J. S. (2003). Extracurricular Activities and Adolescent Development. Journal of Social Issues. doi:10.1046/j.0022-4537.2003.00095.x
  More info

  In this article, we summarize: (a) the arguments linking participation in structured leisure activities to positive youth development, (b) our findings on the association of extracurricular activity involvement with both educational and risky behavior outcomes during adolescence and young adulthood, and (c) our findings regarding possible mediating mechanisms of these associations. Participants in most extracurricular activities achieved better educational outcomes than non-participants even after controlling for social class, gender, and intellectual aptitude. Participation in service and religious activities predicted lower rates of drinking and drug use. Participation on school sports teams predicted both better educational outcomes and higher rates of drinking. The mediating mechanisms we discuss relate to identity formation, peer group membership, and attachment to non-familial adults.