Reciprocal associations between adolescent extracurricular activity availability and engagement and alcohol-related...

The present study examined reciprocal associations between structured and unstructured extracurricular activity access and engagement and reasons against drinking and descriptive drinking norms in a predominantly alcohol naïve adolescent sample. Socioeconomic status (SES) was tested as a moderator of these bidirectional associations, considering access to and benefits of structured activities may vary by SES.

Using six waves of data from a sample of early to middle adolescents (N = 1,023; 52% female; 76% White, 5% Black, 12% Latine; 28% from urban school districts), preregistered latent growth curve models with structured residuals tested reciprocal associations and whether they varied by SES.

The relative availability of structured activities to total extracurricular activities (i.e., structured and unstructured) decreased across time, whereas relative engagement remained constant. Reasons against drinking decreased, and descriptive norms increased across time. There was no support for preregistered bidirectional hypotheses for extracurricular access or engagement and descriptive norms. At the between-person level, adolescents who continued participating in structured activities had more reasons against drinking in early adolescence and showed slower declines in these reasons over time. Contrary to our hypotheses, for most waves, when adolescents had greater engagement in structured activities than their typical levels, they had significantly lower reasons against drinking at the next wave. Despite growth trajectories differing across SES, there was no evidence for SES moderation.

Findings highlight the importance of distinguishing between- and within-person effects when studying extracurricular activities, as well as better capturing the interpersonal processes that occur during extracurricular activities. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).