Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Deciphering the Relationship Between Extracurricular Activities and Delinquency Among Teenage Youth

  • Published:
American Journal of Criminal Justice Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The link between involvement in extracurricular activities and delinquent conduct may be impacted by internal factors, such as self-control. The current study utilizes data from a sample of delinquent youth to examine the two-way relationship between self-control, participation in extracurricular activities, and antisocial behaviors. Our findings indicated that individuals exhibiting lower self-control appeared to gain from heightened involvement in extracurricular activities (i.e., increased variety and intensity of experiences) in extracurricular activities. However increased participation in extracurricular activities was found to correlate with a rise in delinquent behaviors among those exhibiting higher established levels self-control. This relationship is examined through the theoretical lens of personality trait theory, which suggests that youth experience shifts in the superordinate personality dimensions of Engagement and Self-Control as youth mature developmentally.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

Data Availability

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available in the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) repository, https://www.icpsr.umich.edu/web/NAHDAP/studies/29961.

Notes

  1. Due to the limitations and the complexity of running nonlinear models in the current study, these models utilized the default method in Stata 16 for dealing with missing data in regression modeling. The default technique in Stata is equation-wise deletion, but given the simplicity of the models in the study this equation-wise deletion equates to list-wise deletion. However, a number of comparison models were computed to ensure there were no systematic issues with the missing data, which ensured this method was appropriate for dealing with missing data. The comparison regression models were found to be substantively similar to the presented findings.

  2. Four of the items from this scale were excluded from the current study for two reasons. First, two of the items (“Broke into car to steal” and “Went joyriding”) were added to the Pathways questionnaire after many of the participants had already completed their baseline or six-month follow-up interview. The introduction of these two items resulted in a large amount of missing data. To avoid complications and inconsistencies, these two items are excluded. The second two items (“Forced someone to have sex” and “Killed someone”) excluded from this analysis were masked for confidentiality in the data set provided by ICPSR. One noted limitation of this study is that by excluding rape and murder, violent antisocial behavior might be underestimated.

  3. The generally accepted cutoff for Cronbach’s alpha is .7 (see Lance et al., 2006).

  4. Tobit regression is particularly beneficial and is often favored over other regression methods in several scenarios. These include situations where a substantial number of values are clustered at a lower limit, when the dependent variable can either be zero or a positive figure, and when the dependent variable has a known maximum or minimum value with a considerable concentration of values at these extremes. Each of these factors are characteristic of our dependent variables.

  5. Also, we must recognize that during writing of this study people are experiencing various restrictions (e.g., social distancing and school closures) related to social interaction due to the ongoing global pandemic. As such, there is much uncertainty in what extracurricular activity involvement will look like in the near future until vaccinations reach the necessary level to achieve herd immunity or reliable treatments for COVID-19 are found. However, we are hopeful that current conditions will improve and eventually permit typical extracurricular interactions for youth.

References

  • Akers, R. L. (1985). Deviant behavior: A social learning approach. Wadsworth.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown, W. (2019). The influence of self-control on the impact of exposure to violence among youths. Victims & Offenders, 14(6), 692–711.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bundick, M. J. (2011). Extracurricular activities, positive youth development, and the role of meaningfulness of engagement. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 6(1), 57–74.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burton, J. M., & Marshall, L. A. (2005). Protective factors for youth considered at risk of criminal behaviour: Does participation in extracurricular activities help? Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health, 15(1), 46–64.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burton, V. S., Cullen, F. T., Evans, D., & Dunaway, G. (1994). Reconsidering strain theory: Operationalization, rival theories, and adult criminality. Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 10, 213–240.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cauffman, E., Steinberg, L., & Piquero, A. R. (2005). Psychological, neuropsychological and physiological correlates of serious antisocial behavior in adolescence: The role of self-control. Criminology, 43(1), 133–176.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Costa, P., & McCrae, R. (1992). The Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-R) professional manual. Psychological Assessment Resources.

    Google Scholar 

  • Crispin, L. M., Nikolaou, D., & Fang, Z. (2017). Extracurricular participation and risky behaviours during high school. Applied Economics, 49(34), 3359–3371.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Daigle, L. E., Cullen, F. T., & Wright, J. P. (2007). Gender differences in the predictors of juvenile delinquency: Assessing the generality-specificity debate. Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice, 5(3), 254–286.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Darling, N. (2005). Participation in extracurricular activities and adolescent adjustment: Cross-sectional and longitudinal findings. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 34(5), 493–505.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Digman, J. M. (1997). Higher-order factors of The Big Five. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 23, 1246–1256.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dworkin, J., & Larson, R. (2006). Adolescents’ negative experiences in organized youth activities. Journal of Youth Development, 1(3), 44–62.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eccles, J. S., & Barber, B. L. (1999). Student council, volunteering, basketball, or marching band: What kind of extracurricular involvement matters? Journal of Adolescent Research, 14(1), 10–43.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eccles, J. S., Barber, B. L., Stone, M., & Hunt, J. (2003). Extracurricular activities and adolescent development. Journal of Social Issues, 59(4), 865–889.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eisman, A. B., Lee, D. B., Hsieh, H. F., Stoddard, S. A., & Zimmerman, M. A. (2018). More than just keeping busy: The protective effects of organized activity participation on violence and substance use among urban youth. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 47(10), 1–12.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Farineau, H. M., & McWey, L. M. (2011). The relationship between extracurricular activities and delinquency of adolescents in foster care. Children and Youth Service Review, 33(6), 963–968.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Feldman, A. F., & Matjasko, J. L. (2005). The role of school-based extracurricular activities in adolescent development: A comprehensive review and future directions. Review of Educational Research, 75(2), 159–210.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Feldman, S., & Weinberger, D. A. (1994). Self-restraint as a mediator of family influences on boys’ delinquent behavior: A longitudinal study. Child Development, 65, 195–211.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fredricks, J. A., & Eccles, J. S. (2006). Is extracurricular participation associated with beneficial outcomes? Concurrent and longitudinal relations. Developmental Psychology, 42(4), 698.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gilman, R., Meyers, J., & Perez, L. (2004). Structured extracurricular activities among adolescents: Findings and implications for school psychologists. Psychology in the Schools, 41(1), 31–41.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gottfredson, M., & Hirschi, T. (1990). General theory of crime. Stanford University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Hay, C., & Forrest, W. (2008). Self-control theory and the concept of opportunity: The case for a more systematic union. Criminology, 46(4), 1039–1072.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Henne, K., & Shah, R. (2015). Unveiling White logic in criminological research: An intertextual analysis. Contemporary Justice Review, 18(2), 105–120.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Himelfarb, I., Lac, A., & Baharav, H. (2014). Examining school-related delinquencies, extracurricular activities, and grades in adolescents. Educational Studies, 40(1), 81–97.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hirschi, T. (1969). Causes of Delinquency. University of California Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hirschi, T., & Gottfredson, M. (1983). Age and the explanation of crime. American Journal of Sociology, 89(3), 552–584.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huckaby, W. J., Kohler, M., Garner, E. H., & Steiner, H. (1998). A comparison between the Weinberger Adjustment Inventory and the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory with incarcerated adolescent males. Child Psychiatry and Human Development, 28(4), 273–285.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huizinga, D., & Elliott, D. S. (1987). Juvenile offenders, prevalence, offender incidence, and arrest rates by race. Crime & Delinquency, 33(2), 206–223.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huizinga, D., Esbensen, F., & Weiher, A. W. (1991). Are there multiple paths to delinquency? Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, 82(1), 83–118.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnston, L. D., O’Malley, P. M., Bachman, J. G., & Schulenberg, J. E. (2011). Demographic subgroup trends for various licit and illicit drugs, 1975–2010 (Monitoring the Future Occasional Paper No. 74). Institute for Social Research. Retrieved from http://www.monitoringthefuture.org/. Accessed 2 July 2020.

  • Kreager, D. A. (2007). Unnecessary roughness? School sports, peer networks, and male adolescent violence. American Sociological Review, 72, 705–724.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kwan, M., Bobko, S., Faulkner, G., Donnelly, P., & Cairney, J. (2014). Sport participation and alcohol and illicit drug use in adolescents and young adults: A systematic review of longitudinal studies. Addictive Behaviors, 39(3), 497–506.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lance, C. E., Butts, M. M., & Michels, L. C. (2006). The sources of four commonly reported cutoff criteria: What did they really say?. Organizational research methods, 9(2), 202-220.

  • Landers, D. M., & Landers, D. M. (1978). Socialization via interscholastic athletics: Its effects on delinquency. Sociology of Education, 51(4), 299–303.

  • Mahoney, J. L. (2000). School extracurricular activity participation as a moderator in the development of antisocial patterns. Child Development, 71(2), 502–516.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mahoney, J. L., & Cairns, R. B. (1997). Do extracurricular activities protect against early school dropout? Developmental Psychology, 33, 241–253.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meier, A., Hartmann, B. S., & Larson, R. (2018). A quarter century of participation in school-based extracurricular activities: Inequalities by race, class, gender and age?. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 47(6), 1299–1316.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Merkel, D. L. (2013). Youth sport: Positive and negative impact on young athletes. Open Access Journal of Sports Medicine, 4, 151.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moffitt, T. E. (1993). Adolescence-limited and life-course-persistent antisocial behavior: A developmental taxonomy. Psychological Review, 100(4), 674.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mokabane, M. N., Mashao, M. M., van Staden, M., Potgieter, M. J., & Potgieter, A. (2014). Low levels of physical activity in female adolescents cause overweight and obesity: Are our schools failing our children? South African Medical Journal, 104(10), 665–667.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Olson, K. R. (2005). Engagement and self-control: Superordinate dimensions of Big Five traits. Personality and Individual Differences, 38, 1689–1700.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Osgood, D. W., & Anderson, A. L. (2004). Unstructured socializing and rates of delinquency. Criminology, 42(3), 519–550. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-9125.2004.tb00528.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Osgood, D. W., Wilson, J. K., O’Malley, P. M., Bachman, J. G., & Johnston, L. D. (1996). Routine activities and individual deviant behavior. American Sociological Review, 61(4), 635–655.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paschall, M. J., Ornstein, M. L., & Flewelling, R. L. (2001). African American male adolescents’ involvement in the criminal justice system: The criterion validity of self-report measures in a prospective study. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 38, 174–187.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paternoster, R., Bushway, S., Brame, R., & Apel, R. (2003). The effect of teenage employment on delinquency and problem behaviors. Social Forces, 82(1), 297–335.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Piquero, A. R., MacIntosh, R., & Hickman, M. (2000). Does self-control affect survey response? Applying exploratory, confirmatory, and item response theory analysis to grasmick et al.’s self-control scale*. Criminology, 38(3), 897–930.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Salguero, A. (2009). The amazing, inspiring story of Davone Bess. The Amazing, Inspiring Story of Davone Bess. Miami Herald. Retrieved from https://miamiherald.typepad.com/dolphins_in_depth/2009/01/if-i-tell-you-t.html. Accessed 7 July 2020.

  • Schaefer, D. R., Simpkins, S. D., Vest, A. E., & Price, C. D. (2011). The contribution of extracurricular activities to adolescent friendships: New insights through social network analysis. Developmental Psychology, 47(4), 1141.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Snellman, K., Silva, J. M., Frederick, C. B., & Putnam, R. D. (2015). The engagement gap: Social mobility and extracurricular participation among American youth. The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 657, 194–207.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sønderlund, A. L., O’Brien, K., Kremer, P., Rowland, B., De Groot, F., Staiger, P., ..., & Miller, P. G. (2014). The association between sports participation, alcohol use and aggression and violence: A systematic review. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 17(1), 2–7.

  • Steffensmeier, D., & Allan, E. (1996). Gender and crime: Toward a gendered theory of female offending. Annual Review of Sociology, 22, 459–487.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sweeten, G. (2012). Scaling criminal offending. Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 28(3), 533–557.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thornberry, T. P., Lizotte, A. J., Krohn, M. D., Farnworth, M., & Jang, S. J. (1994). Delinquent peers, beliefs, and delinquent behavior: A longitudinal test of interactional theory. Criminology, 32(1), 47–83.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tittle, C. R., Ward, D. A., & Grasmick, H. G. (2004). Capacity for self-control and individuals’ interest in exercising self-control. Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 20(2), 143–172.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tonry, M. (1995). Malign Neglect: Race, crime, and punishment in America. Oxford University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Weinberger, D. A., & Schwartz, G. E. (1990). Distress and restraint as superordinate dimensions of self-reported adjustment: A typological perspective. Journal of Personality, 58(2), 381–417.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zill, N., Nord, C. W., & Loomis, L. S. (1995). Adolescent Time Use, Risky Behavior, and Outcomes: An analysis of national data. Westat.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, TX, USA

    Wyatt Brown & Matthew Caines

  2. Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, MI, USA

    Brian G. Sellers

Authors
  1. Wyatt Brown
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Brian G. Sellers
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Matthew Caines
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Wyatt Brown.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Brown, W., Sellers, B.G. & Caines, M. Deciphering the Relationship Between Extracurricular Activities and Delinquency Among Teenage Youth. Am J Crim Just 48, 1372–1393 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12103-023-09736-6

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12103-023-09736-6

Keywords

Search

Navigation