The Role of School-Based Extracurricular Activities in Adolescent Development: A Comprehensive Review and Future Directions

This article reviews the contemporary literature on school-based activity participation, focusing on patterns of participation, academic achievement, substance use, sexual activity, psychological adjustment, delinquency, and young adult outcomes. Also, the authors discuss possible mediators and moderators of extracurricular activity participation in regard to adolescent development. The review indicates that the associations between school-based activity participation and these outcomes are mostly positive but that the picture becomes mixed once moderator variables are included. The authors suggest areas for future research that include using new methods for measuring activities and applying an overarching theoretical framework to investigations of extracurricular activities and adolescent development. Finally, to move toward a causal model of activities and adolescent functioning, future research must consider the mechanisms through which activities exert their influence on development. The authors propose several possible mechanisms of participation in terms of adjustment during adolescence and young adulthood.

[1]  R. McNeal.  High School Extracurricular Activities: Closed Structures and Stratifying Patterns of Participation , 1998 .

[2]  H. Grotevant.  Adolescent development in family contexts. , 1998 .

[3]  Jacquelynne S. Eccles,et al.  Student Council, Volunteering, Basketball, or Marching Band , 1999 .

[4]  J. Eccles,et al.  Whatever Happened to the Jock, the Brain, and the Princess? , 2001 .

[5]  J. Eccles,et al.  Academic Functioning and Mental Health in Adolescence , 1999 .

[6]  L. Steinberg.  We Know Some Things: Parent-Adolescent Relationships in Retrospect and Prospect. , 2001 .

[7]  M. Farrell,et al.  Athletic participation and sexual behavior in adolescents: the different worlds of boys and girls. , 1998, Journal of health and social behavior.

[8]  E. Spreitzer,et al.  Participation in sport as related to educational expectations among high school girls. , 1977 .

[9]  Annette Lareau.  SOCIAL CLASS DIFFERENCES IN FAMILY-SCHOOL RELATIONSHIPS: THE IMPORTANCE OF CULTURAL CAPITAL , 1987 .

[10]  Fred M. Newmann,et al.  Continuing the bifurcation of affect and cognition , 1996 .

[11]  S. Raudenbush,et al.  Neighborhoods and Adolescent Development: How Can We Determine the Links? , 1998 .

[12]  W. Spady.  Lament for the Letterman: Effects of Peer Status and Extracurricular Activities on Goals and Achievement , 1970, American Journal of Sociology.

[13]  U. Bronfenbrenner,et al.  The ecology of developmental processes. , 1998 .

[14]  L. Shilts.  The relationship of early adolescent substance use to extracurricular activities, peer influence, and personal attitudes. , 1991, Adolescence.

[15]  J. L. Mahoney,et al.  School extracurricular activity participation as a moderator in the development of antisocial patterns. , 2000, Child development.

[16]  Carol Midgley,et al.  Perceptions of the school psychological environment and early adolescents' psychological and behavioral functioning in school: The mediating role of goals and belonging. , 1996 .

[17]  P. H. Miller,et al.  Theories of developmental psychology, 2nd ed. , 1989 .

[18]  D. Davalos,et al.  The Effects of Extracurricular Activity, Ethnic Identification, and Perception of School on Student Dropout Rates , 1999 .

[19]  R. Cairns,et al.  Do extracurricular activities protect against early school dropout? , 1997, Developmental psychology.

[20]  P. Crocker,et al.  The contributions of goal characteristics and causal attributions to emotional experience in youth sport participants. , 2002 .

[21]  T. Andre,et al.  Participation in Extracurricular Activities in Secondary School: What Is Known, What Needs to Be Known? , 1987 .

[22]  D. De Clercq,et al.  The measurement of competitive anxiety during balance beam performance in gymnasts , 2006, Journal of sports sciences.

[23]  Z. Stoneman,et al.  Forecasting sibling relationships in early adolescence from child temperaments and family processes in middle childhood. , 1994, Child development.

[24]  J. Eccles,et al.  Leaving Home, Attending College, Partnership and Parenthood: The Role of Life Transition Events in Leisure Pattern Stability From Adolescence to Young Adulthood , 2001 .

[25]  H. Marsh.  Extracurricular activities: Beneficial extension of the traditional curriculum or subversion of academic goals? , 1992 .

[26]  T. J. Berndt,et al.  Influences of Friends and Friendships on Adjustment to Junior High School. , 1999 .

[27]  H. Stattin,et al.  Leisure activities and adolescent antisocial behavior: the role of structure and social context. , 2000, Journal of adolescence.

[28]  David M. Hansen,et al.  Adolescents' Accounts of Growth Experiences in Youth Activities , 2003 .

[29]  S. Gore,et al.  Sports Involvement as Protection against Depressed Mood , 2001 .

[30]  C. Rees.  Do high school sports build character? A quasi-experiment on a national sample , 1990 .

[31]  J. Allen,et al.  Longitudinal assessment of autonomy and relatedness in adolescent-family interactions as predictors of adolescent ego development and self-esteem. , 1994, Child development.

[32]  W. Evans,et al.  Extracurricular Activity and Ethnicity , 2002 .

[33]  S. Bull,et al.  Perceptions of the sport psychologist by female university athletes. , 1999, Journal of sports sciences.

[34]  D. Landers,et al.  Socialization via interscholastic athletics: its effects on educational attainment. , 1978, Research quarterly.

[35]  J. Eccles,et al.  The Academic Achievement of African American Students During Early Adolescence: An Examination of Multiple Risk, Promotive, and Protective Factors , 2002, American journal of community psychology.

[36]  H. Cooper,et al.  Out-of-School Activities and Academic Achievement: The Mediating Role of Self-Beliefs , 2002 .

[37]  C. Buchanan,et al.  The impact of interparental conflict on adolescent children: Considerations of family systems and family structure. , 2001 .

[38]  M. Windle.  Parental, Sibling, and Peer Influences on Adolescent Substance Use and Alcohol Problems , 2000 .

[39]  Gwendolyn D. Perry-Burney,et al.  Self Esteem, Academic Achievement, and Moral Development Among Adolescent Girls , 2002 .

[40]  R. Rehberg,et al.  Athletes and Scholars: An Analysis of the Compositional Characteristics and Images of these Two Youth Culture Categories , 1975 .

[41]  R. Larson,et al.  Daily companionship in late childhood and early adolescence: changing developmental contexts. , 1991, Child development.

[42]  H. Sacks.  Children of the Land: Adversity and Success in Rural America.By Glen H. Elder Jr. and Rand D. Conger. University of Chicago Press, 2000. 408 pp. Cloth, $35.00 , 2002 .

[43]  Jennifer A. Fredricks,et al.  A Qualitative Exploration of Adolescents’ Commitment to Athletics and the Arts , 2002 .

[44]  D. Gould,et al.  Motives for participating in competitive youth swimming , 1985 .

[45]  G. Ladd,et al.  Friendship quality as a predictor of young children's early school adjustment. , 1996, Child development.

[46]  J. Eccles,et al.  Extracurricular Activities and Adolescent Development , 2003 .

[47]  L. Bergman,et al.  Conceptual and methodological considerations in a developmental approach to the study of positive adaptation , 2002 .

[48]  E. Spreitzer.  Does Participation in Interscholastic Athletics Affect Adult Development? , 1994 .

[49]  W. Spady.  Status, Achievement, and Motivation in the American High School , 1971, The School Review.

[50]  J. Eccles,et al.  Changing Competence Perceptions, Changing Values: Implications for Youth Sport , 2003 .

[51]  B. B. Brown,et al.  Peer groups and peer cultures. , 1990 .

[52]  M. Melnick,et al.  Educational effects of interscholastic athletic participation on African-American and Hispanic youth. , 1992, Adolescence.

[53]  Michael Hanks,et al.  Athletics and Social Participation in the Educational Attainment Process. , 1976 .

[54]  A. Passmore,et al.  Development and administration of a measure to assess adolescents' participation in leisure activities. , 2001, Adolescence.

[55]  L. B. Otto.  Extracurricular Activities in the Educational Attainment Process. , 1975 .

[56]  Andrew J. Fuligni,et al.  Perceived Parent-Child Relationships and Early Adolescents' Orientation Toward Peers , 1993 .

[57]  W. Schafer.  Participation in Interscholastic Athletics and Delinquency: A Preliminary Study , 1969 .

[58]  D. Vandell,et al.  After-school activities and the development of low-income urban children: a longitudinal study. , 1999, Developmental psychology.

[59]  Jacquelynne S. Eccles,et al.  Adolescents' Commitment to Developing Talent: The Role of Peers in Continuing Motivation for Sports and the Arts , 1999 .

[60]  Laurence Steinberg,et al.  An ecological analysis of peer influence on adolescent grade point average and drug use. , 1995 .

[61]  William Sack,et al.  At the Threshold: The Developing Adolescent , 1992 .

[62]  W. Jordan,et al.  How students invest their time outside of school: Effects on school-related outcomes , 1999 .

[63]  Jennifer A. Schmidt.  Correlates of Reduced Misconduct Among Adolescents Facing Adversity , 2003 .

[64]  Beckett A. Broh.  Linking Extracurricular Programming to Academic Achievement: Who Benefits and Why?. , 2002 .

[65]  B. Flay,et al.  Reviewing theories of adolescent substance use: organizing pieces in the puzzle. , 1995, Psychological bulletin.

[66]  U. Bronfenbrenner.  Ecology of the family as a context for human development: research perspectives , 1986 .

[67]  Penelope Eckert,et al.  Jocks and Burnouts: Social Categories and Identity in the High School , 1989 .

[68]  T. Farmer,et al.  Promoting Interpersonal Competence and Educational Success Through Extracurricular Activity Participation , 2003 .

[69]  R. Calabrese,et al.  Alienation: An Explanation of High Dropout Rates among African American and Latino Students. , 1991 .

[70]  S. Nagy,et al.  Organized Group Activity as a Protective Factor Against Adolescent Substance Use , 2000 .

[71]  K. Thiede,et al.  Assessing After-School Programs as Contexts for Youth Development , 2001 .

[72]  S. B. Gerber.  Extracurricular activities and academic achievement. , 1996 .

[73]  S. L. Hanson,et al.  Women, Sports, and Science: Do Female Athletes Have an Advantage?. , 1998 .

[74]  J. A. Mancini,et al.  Shaping Structured Out-of-School Time Use Among Youth: The Effects of Self, Family, and Friend Systems , 2003 .

[75]  H. Stattin,et al.  Structured after‐school activities as a moderator of depressed mood for adolescents with detached relations to their parents , 2002 .

[76]  S. Erkut,et al.  Gender and Race Patterns in the Pathways from Sports Participation to Self-Esteem , 2002, Sociological perspectives : SP : official publication of the Pacific Sociological Association.

[77]  A. Crouter,et al.  Free- time activities in middle childhood: links with adjustment in early adolescence. , 2001, Child development.

[78]  M. Stoolmiller,et al.  Predicting the timing of first sexual intercourse for at-risk adolescent males. , 1996, Child development.

[79]  P. Simon.  Community Programs to Promote Youth Development , 2005 .

[80]  T. Farmer,et al.  School Adjustment and the Academic Success of Rural African American Early Adolescents in the Deep South , 2006 .

[81]  M. Farrell,et al.  Sports, sexual behavior, contraceptive use, and pregnancy among female and male high school students: testing cultural resource theory. , 1999, Sociology of sport journal.

[82]  A. Fletcher,et al.  Sex Differences in Associations Between Parental Behaviors and Characteristics and Adolescent Social Integration , 2000 .

[83]  Milbrey W. McLaughlin,et al.  Youth Civic Engagement in the Twenty-First Century , 2002 .

[84]  J. Chabot.  [Peer groups]. , 2003, La Revue du praticien.

[85]  C. Pratt,et al.  Leisure activities of adolescent school students: predictors of participation and interest. , 1991, Journal of adolescence.

[86]  J. Finn.  Withdrawing From School , 1989 .

[87]  Jennifer A. Fredricks,et al.  Children's competence and value beliefs from childhood through adolescence: growth trajectories in two male-sex-typed domains. , 2002, Developmental psychology.

[88]  Robert L. Crosnoe.  Academic and health-related trajectories in adolescence: the intersection of gender and athletics. , 2002, Journal of health and social behavior.

[89]  M. Melnick,et al.  Developmental Effects of Athletic Participation among High School Girls , 1988 .

[90]  Robert L. Crosnoe.  The social world of male and female athletes in high school , 2001 .

[91]  Eric M. Anderman,et al.  Social influences on sports participation during adolescence , 2000 .

[92]  Alan L. Smith.  Peer relationships in physical activity contexts: a road less traveled in youth sport and exercise psychology research. , 2003 .

[93]  J. Coleman,et al.  Social Capital in the Creation of Human Capital , 1988, American Journal of Sociology.

[94]  Jodi Dworkin,et al.  Facilitating Adolescents' Constructive Use of Time in One-Parent Families , 2001 .

[95]  S. Dornbusch,et al.  The social structure of schooling. , 1996, Annual review of psychology.

[96]  F. D. Horowitz,et al.  Theories of Developmental Psychology (2nd ed.). , 1989 .

[97]  R. Gilman.  The Relationship between Life Satisfaction, Social Interest, and Frequency of Extracurricular Activities among Adolescent Students , 2001 .

[98]  J. Brooks-Gunn,et al.  The neighborhoods they live in: the effects of neighborhood residence on child and adolescent outcomes. , 2000, Psychological bulletin.

[99]  Jennifer Connolly,et al.  Intimacy Between Adolescent Friends: Age and Gender Differences in Intimate Affect and Intimate Behaviors , 1999 .

[100]  Vernon L. Hendrix.  Correlates of Commitment/Alienation among High School Seniors. , 1990 .

[101]  D. Elliott,et al.  The Effects of Neighborhood Disadvantage on Adolescent Development , 1996 .

[102]  R. McNeal,et al.  Extracurricular activities and high school dropouts. , 1995 .

[103]  E. Snyder.  A Longitudinal Analysis of the Relationship between High School Student Values, Social Participation, and Educational-Occupational Achievement. , 1969 .

[104]  R. McNeal.  Participation in High School extracurricular activities : Investigating School effects , 1999 .

[105]  Fern K. Willits,et al.  Adolescent and Adult Leisure Patterns: A Reassessment , 1998 .

[106]  B. B. Brown,et al.  Beyond the Classroom: Why School Reform Has Failed and What Parents Need to Do , 1996 .

[107]  L. Hardy,et al.  The relative impact of cognitive anxiety and self-confidence upon sport performance: a meta-analysis , 2003, Journal of sports sciences.

[108]  M. Melnick,et al.  Effects of Interscholastic Athletic Participation on the Social, Educational, and Career Mobility of Hispanic Girls and Boys , 1992 .

[109]  B Stanton,et al.  Social influences on the sexual behavior of youth at risk for HIV exposure. , 1994, American journal of public health.

[110]  Nicholas Zill,et al.  Adolescent Time Use, Risky Behavior, and Outcomes: An Analysis of National Data , 1995 .

[111]  M. Weiss,et al.  The Impact of Girls' Interscholastic Sport Participation on Academic Orientation , 1984 .

[112]  M. Melnick,et al.  High School Athletic Participation and Postsecondary Educational and Occupational Mobility: A Focus on Race and Gender , 1993 .

[113]  Self-Regulation Training, State Anxiety, and Sport Performance: A Psychophysiological Case Study , 1992 .

[114]  M. Peluso,et al.  Physical activity and mental health: the association between exercise and mood. , 2005, Clinics.

[115]  Michael Rutter,et al.  School Effects on Pupil Progress: Research Findings and Policy Implications. , 1983 .

[116]  D. Crone,et al.  'I feel totally at one, totally alive and totally happy': a psycho-social explanation of the physical activity and mental health relationship. , 2005, Health education research.

[117]  L. B. Otto.  Extracurricular Activities and Aspirations in the Status Attainment Process. , 1976 .

[118]  S. Reis,et al.  Economically Disadvantaged Urban Female Students Who Achieve in Schools , 1999 .

[119]  Rich Gilman,et al.  Structured extracurricular activities among adolescents: Findings and implications for school psychologists , 2004 .

[120]  Anthony S. Bryk,et al.  Hierarchical Linear Models: Applications and Data Analysis Methods , 1992 .

[121]  Patricia H. Jenkins,et al.  School Delinquency and the School Social Bond , 1997 .

[122]  Anne C. Fletcher,et al.  Parental Influences on Adolescent Involvement in Community Activities. , 2000 .

[123]  H. Marsh,et al.  School athletic participation : mostly gain with little pain , 2003 .

[124]  L. Borden,et al.  The influence of extra-curricular activities and peer influence on substance use. , 2001 .

[125]  C. Midgley,et al.  Development during adolescence. The impact of stage-environment fit on young adolescents' experiences in schools and in families. , 1993, The American psychologist.

[126]  F. Willits,et al.  Adolescent and adult leisure patterns: A 37‐year follow‐up study , 1989 .

[127]  C. Fertman,et al.  Adolescents' Perceptions of Belonging in Their Families , 1992 .

[128]  H. Marsh.  The Effects of Participation in Sport during the Last Two Years of High School , 1993 .

[129]  Daniel R. Williams,et al.  Identity Affirmation through Leisure Activities: Leisure Symbols of the Self , 1992 .

[130]  D. Alwin,et al.  Athletics, Aspirations, and Attainments. , 1977 .

[131]  D. Magnusson,et al.  Parent participation in community activities and the persistence of criminality , 2001, Development and Psychopathology.

[132]  James B. Schreiber,et al.  After-School Pursuits, Ethnicity, and Achievement for 8th- and 10th-Grade Students , 2002 .

[133]  D. Offer,et al.  The Adolescent Society: The Social Life of the Teenager and Its Impact on Education. , 1962 .

[134]  K. Moore,et al.  Implications of Extracurricular Activity Participation During Adolescence on Positive Outcomes , 2003 .