Researchers have found that certain coached extracurricular activities can reduce the likelihood of 10-14 year-olds smoking and drinking. The study found that team sport participation with a coach was the only extracurricular activity associated with lower risk of trying smoking compared to none or minimal participation. Participating in other clubs was the only extracurricular activity associated with lower risk of trying drinking compared to none or minimal participation. Researchers from the School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Lebanon, New Hampshire conducted telephone surveys with 6522 US students (ages 10 to 14 years) in 2003. They asked participants if they had ever tried smoking or drinking, and about their participation in extracurricular activities. Using sample weighting, they produced response estimates that were representative of the population of adolescents aged 10 to 14 years at the time of data collection.

Logistic regression models tested associations with trying smoking and drinking, controlling for sociodemographics, child and parent characteristics, friend/sibling/parent substance use, and media use. Over 55% of students reported participating in team sports with a coach and without a coach a few times per week or more. Most had minimal to no participation in school clubs (74.2%); however, most reported being involved in other clubs (85.8%). A little less than half participated in music, choir, dance, and/ or band lessons. Over half of participants involved in religious activity did those activities a few times per week or more. In the multiple regression analysis, team sport participation with a coach was the only extracurricular activity associated with lower risk of trying smoking (adjusted odds ratio 0.68, 95% confidence interval 0.49, 0.96) compared to none or minimal participation. Participating in other clubs was the only extracurricular activity associated with lower risk of trying drinking (adjusted odds ratio 0.56, 95% confidence interval 0.32, 0.99) compared to none or minimal participation. The type of extracurricular involvement may be associated with risk of youth smoking and drinking initiation, the authors conclude. Future research should seek to better understand the underlying reasons behind these differences.

Source: Anna M. Adachi-Mejia, Jennifer J. Gibson Chambers, Zhigang Li, James D. Sargent. The Relative Roles of Types of Extracurricular Activity on Smoking and Drinking Initiation Among Tweens. Academic Pediatrics, 2014; 14 (3): 271 DOI: 10.1016/j.acap.2014.02.002.