Leadership in nonformal youth groups: Does style affect youth outcomes?

Adult styles of leadership significantly affect member outcomes in 4-H clubs. While a number of previous studies have failed to find significant life skills differences between 4-H participants and non-members, the reason lies in failing to consider the style of adult leadership in research design. A year-long study of five clubs from three randomly selected counties in Montana used adult leadership style as a discriminant variable. Both qualitative and quantitative research methods were used to triangulate results and conclusions.