After-School Activities Cut Risky Behavior

Extra-curricular activities seem to minimize risky behaviors in teens, but there is a tipping point of too much participation, a U.S. study found.

Researchers at Northeastern University in Boston looked separately at delinquency and risky behaviors for both young men and young women in a suburban high school and how involvement in outside activities influenced those behaviors.

The study, published in Crime & Delinquency, found that involvement in extra-curricular activities definitely seemed to minimize the risky behaviors, too much participation had a counter-effect.

The researchers also found that non-traditional activities for each gender — such as sports for girls and church activities for boys — provided a greater protection from delinquency.

The researchers believe that extracurricular involvement helps deter delinquency by reducing unstructured time, providing incentives to conform and creating avenues for attachments with other pro-social peers and adults.

Young people who participate in sports and both community and church activities report significantly less serious delinquency as well as less problem drinking and risky sexual behavior, study co-author Sean P. Varano said in a statement.

A healthy and measured dose of involvement in extracurricular activities is good for young people.

The study is available at: http://cad.sagepub.com/cgi/rapidpdf/0011128707306121v1.