Protective qualities of structured extracurricular activity participation for adolescent internalizing problems

Background: Aspects of structured extracurricular activity (SEA) participation may be important protective factors for adolescent internalizing problems and warrant further investigation. The present study examined different aspects of SEA participation, intensity (i.e., weekly frequency) and duration (i.e., total months of participation) both overall and at the activity-domain level, and their relationship to internalizing problems. Other areas examined included the domain of sports and differences between parent- and adolescent-reported internalizing symptoms. Methods: Ninety-six adolescents being individually evaluated to determine eligibility to participate in a school-based depression prevention study completed baseline measures that included an internalizing symptom rating scale (YSR) and an extracurricular activity questionnaire (EAI). Parents of participants also completed rating scales assessing their children’s internalizing symptoms (CBCL). Multiple regression analyses were conducted to examine relationships between SEA dimensions and adolescent internalizing symptoms. Results: Total SEA participation intensity predicted CBCL scores at a trend level in a negative direction (p = .07). Intensity of sports participation and duration of participation in leadership activities both significantly negatively predicted CBCL scores (p = .02 and .03, respectively). Notably, significant findings in this study were only related to parent-reported adolescent internalizing scores (CBCL) rather than adolescent self-reported internalizing scores (YSR). Conclusions: Results suggest that the SEA dimensions of sports participation intensity and duration of participation in leadership activities may be especially important negative predictors of parent-reported adolescent internalizing scores. Additionally, overall SEA intensity may also be an important negative predictor of parent-reported internalizing scores based on trend-level findings.Psy.D.Includes bibliographical referencesby Karen Lan