School-Level Analysis of Adolescent Extracurricular Activity, Delinquency, and Depression: The Importance of Situational Context

• NCJ Number: 225917
• Journal: Journal of Youth and Adolescence Volume: 38 Issue: 1 Dated: January 2009 Pages: 51-62
• Author(s): Andrew M. Guest; Nick McRee
• Date Published: January 2009
• Length: 12 pages
• Grant Number(s): P01-HD31921
• Sponsoring Agency: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Using a national sample that included 13,466 students in grades 7-12 from 120 schools, this study conducted school-level analyses of the association between students’ extracurricular activities, delinquency, and depression.

Abstract

The findings suggest that the associations between extracurricular activities, delinquent conduct, and depressive symptoms among youth depend more on micro-level contextual factors than on the type or content of the extracurricular activities themselves. The analysis of the data collected produced three main findings. First, near-normal distributions were found across schools in terms of the proportions of delinquent or depressed youths involved in extracurricular activities, indicating that extracurricular activities could be positive, neutral, or negative settings in association with youth development. Second, within individual schools, the study did not identify consistent associations in the propensity of delinquent or depressed youths to be involved with various types of extracurricular activities. Third, standard macro-level context variables did not explain the observed variations within or between schools. Data were derived from the first wave (1994-1995) of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, a nationally representative, probability-based survey of adolescents in grades 7-12. As part of the first wave, administrators from each school completed a questionnaire that described several characteristics of their institutions. In addition, students in these schools were eligible to participate in the in-school surveys and in-home interviews. Information was obtained on youths’ demographic characteristics, involvement in extracurricular activities, delinquent behavior, and self-assessments of psychological well-being. As part of the first wave’s in-home survey, a parent completed a separate questionnaire to develop school-level measures of social class. The dependent (outcome) variables were delinquency and depression. The independent variables were extracurricular activity and context variables (economic, organization, and institutional contexts at the school level). 2 tables, 2 figures, and 59 references