Can involvement in extra-curricular activities help prevent juvenile delinquency?
The study, conducted by Northeastern University researchers, looked separately at delinquency and risky behaviors for both young men and young women in a suburban high school and how involvement in outside activities influenced those behaviors. The findings provided interesting, and, in some cases, surprising results. While they found that involvement in extra-curricular activities definitely seemed to minimize the risky behaviors, there seemed to be a tipping point where too much participation had a counter-effect. They also found that nontraditional activities for each gender (such as sports for girls and church for boys) provided a greater protection from delinquency. The researchers believe that extracurricular involvement helps deter delinquency by reducing unstructured time, providing incentives to conform, and creating avenues for attachments with other pro-social peers and adults. Young people who participate in sports and both community and church activities report significant
