Extracurricular Activities, Athletic Participation, and Adolescent Alcohol Use: Gender-Differentiated and School-Contextual Effects

Keywords

extracurricular activities, alcohol use, gender, adolescence

Abstract

This research investigates the effects of extracurricular activities on alcohol use among male (n = 4,495) and female (n = 5,398) adolescents who participated in the 1990–92 National Education Longitudinal Study. Previous studies have assessed the association between extracurricular activities and alcohol use, but none have explored whether the association depends on the school context. Using a multilevel model, I examine whether school-level factors affect the rela- tionship between involvement in athletic or nonathletic activities and changes in adolescent alcohol use from 1990 to 1992. The results indicate that the neg- ative association between nonathletic activities and alcohol use is stronger among males in low-minority-population schools. Moreover, the positive asso- ciation between athletic involvement and alcohol use is stronger among females in lower-socioeconomic-status schools and males in higher-socioeconomic-sta- tus schools. I propose that these results reflect variation in high school cultures and in the resources available to schools.

Original Publication Citation

Hoffmann, John P. 2006. “Extracurricular Activities, Athletic Participation, and Adolescent Alcohol Use: Gender-Differentiated and School-Contextual Effects.” Journal of Health and Social Behavior 47(3): 175-190.

Document Type

Peer-Reviewed Article

Publication Date

2006-9

Permanent URL

http://hdl.lib.byu.edu/1877/6727

Publisher

Journal of Health and Social Behavior

Language

English

College

Family, Home, and Social Sciences

Department

Sociology

University Standing at Time of Publication

Full Professor

Link to Full Text

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