Peer activity in the evenings and participation in aggressive and problem behaviors

Low adult supervision during the after-school hours has been associated with numerous problem behaviors among youth. We examined the extent to which this relationship pertains to the evening hours and aggressive behaviors.

Cross-sectional self-report data were obtained from a nationally representative sample of 14,818 youth in grades 6-10 in the 2001-2002 Health Behaviors of School-aged Children Survey. The relationship between spending evenings out with friends and involvement in problem behaviors was examined using logistic regression analyses.

One-fifth of U.S. youth surveyed reportedly spent five or more evenings out with friends each week. After adjusting for grade, race/ethnicity, parental education, parental involvement, and perception of neighborhood safety, boys and girls who reported spending five or more evenings out were 4.3 and 3.1 times, respectively, than boys and girls who spent less than two evenings out, more likely to be involved in four or more physical fights in the past year; 3.0 and 4.0 times, respectively, more likely to have bullied another at least once a week at school; 2.7 and 4.9 times, respectively, more likely to have carried a weapon 6 or more days in the past month; 3.8 and 4.8 times, respectively, more likely to consume alcohol at least once a month; and 3.3 and 7.2 times, respectively, more likely to have smoked every day.

Although the majority of youth who spend most evenings out do not frequently participate in problem behaviors (69.7%), their consistently increased risk for substance use and aggressive behaviors warrants attention. Further examination of specific evening activities, extracurricular involvement, neighborhood context, adult supervision, and parental monitoring is required.