Relationships among Participation in Outside Activities and Substance Use Behaviors

Purpose: To determine the extent to which involvement in organized activities is associated with and predicts adolescent substance abuse behaviors, controlling for protective and risk factors. Based on the positive youth development model, this study is part of a larger community-campus partnership that includes government agencies, schools, and a multidisciplinary team from the university. Methods: Design: Descriptive/predictive correlational. Secondary data set analysis. Participants: 5,873 students grades 7 - 12 in upstate New York. Mean age = 14.83 (SD = 1.79) years. Majority of subjects self-reported as Caucasian (87%), with 6% reporting as African-American and 4% as Asian. Procedures: Anonymous, self-administered paper and pencil survey collected in the school setting, Fall 2010. Measures: The Prevention Needs Assessment survey, which includes risk and protective factors at the individual, peer, family, school, and neighborhood levels and problem behaviors (substance abuse, antisocial behavior, and gambling). In addition, duration and breadth of participation in 10 outside activities was calculated. Analyses: Descriptive, correlation, and logistic regression. Results: Alcohol, marijuana, and tobacco were the most commonly used substances. Outside activities was negatively associated (r = -.04 to - .24) with substance use behaviors . Controlling for protective and risk factors, outside activities predicted (Exp(B) = .86 - .91) a reduction in select substance use behaviors. Conclusions: Primary and secondary prevention of substance use in adolescents is a complex, multi-faceted problem. Interventions can occur at many levels. Public health nurses can impact prevention through collaboration and policy development at the community level, in addition to individual health counseling.