A new study on juvenile delinquency has found that participation in extra-curricular activities can definitely minimize the risky behaviors in young men and women.
However, the study also showed that there is a “tipping point” where too much involvement can have a counter-effect.Researchers at the Northeastern University separately examined delinquency and risky behaviors for both young men and young women in a suburban high school and how involvement in outside activities influenced those behaviors.
The team found that participation in extra-curricular activities certainly seemed to lessen the risky behaviors.
But, the researchers also discovered that there seemed to be a “tipping point” where excessive involvement had a counter-effect.
They also found that nontraditional activities for each gender, such as sports for girls and church for boys, provided a greater protection from delinquency.
The researchers believe that extracurricular involvement helps dissuade delinquency by reducing unstructured time, providing incentives to conform, and creating avenues for attachments with other pro-social peers and adults.
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“A healthy and measured dose of involvement in extracurricular activities is good for young people,” Varano added.
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Source-ANI
SPH/L