The goal of this study was to construct from the available data a model for integrating the interrelated variables of participation into a consistent, theoretical framework which explained who participated in which activities and why they participated. The author sought to attain the goal by establishing two variable relationships to determine the variables that influence participation. The sample consisted of 616 persons tested at ninth grade; 527 persons tested at twelfth grade; and 391 persons who returned a mailed questionnaire five years after graduating from high school. Measurement tools consisted of 25 measures of participation grouped into 10 Common Factors, and 45 individual measures of achievement grouped into 9 Common Factors--using Harris' strategy for factor analysis; plus four status categories of sex, marital status, children at home, and formal level of education. Null correlations and quadratic relationships were used for analysis. These analyses indicated that participation research should concern itself with selecting theoretically relevant concepts. The study was limited by inadequate theory; use of univariate statistical procedures; the participant nonparticipant dichotomy; and arbitrary methods used to select variables for the study. (Author/PT)