Evaluating the Immediate Emotional Impact of Community Volunteering on High School Students

Background: Adolescence represents a challenging period of emotional and psychological development, yet today's youth face unprecedented pressures that compromise their mental health. Community service has emerged as a potentially transformative experience that may enhance adolescent well-being, but the immediate mood effects of short-term, structured volunteer activities are not well understood. Objective: This study aims to quantify the immediate emotional impact of participation in a high school-based community service program, "Strong Teens Stronger Community," on positive and negative affect among adolescents. Methods: The study employed a pre-post quasi-experimental design with repeated measures. Eleven high school students (N = 11; ages 15-17) completed the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) immediately before and after six structured service events over a 12-month period. Non-parametric Wilcoxon signed-rank tests and effect size calculations were used to analyze mood changes. Results: Participants exhibited significant increases in positive affect (Mchange=+14.64, p<0.001, d=1.37) and decreases in negative affect (Mchange= -7.45, p<0.001, d=1.51) following the service events. Remarkably, students with lower initial positive affect showed greater improvements, and negative affect scores converged to a uniformly low level post-intervention, suggesting an "emotional reset" effect. Conclusion: Structured community service activities can elicit substantial and consistent improvements in the mood states of high school students, particularly benefiting those with lower baseline positive affect. These findings highlight the potential of community service as an accessible and impactful intervention for adolescent mental health support.