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

TLDR

Previous studies have assessed the association between extracurricular activities and alcohol use, but none have explored whether the association depends on the school context. 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. Using a multilevel model, the study examines whether school‑level factors affect the relationship between involvement in athletic or nonathletic activities and changes in adolescent alcohol use from 1990 to 1992. The results show that the negative association between nonathletic activities and alcohol use is stronger among males in low‑minority‑population schools, while the positive association between athletic involvement and alcohol use is stronger among females in lower‑socioeconomic‑status schools and males in higher‑socioeconomic‑status schools, indicating that high‑school cultures and available resources drive these gender‑differentiated effects.

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 relationship between involvement in athletic or nonathletic activities and changes in adolescent alcohol use from 1990 to 1992. The results indicate that the negative association between nonathletic activities and alcohol use is stronger among males in low-minority-population schools. Moreover, the positive association between athletic involvement and alcohol use is stronger among females in lower-socioeconomic-status schools and males in higher-socioeconomic-status schools. I propose that these results reflect variation in high school cultures and in the resources available to schools.