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Home / American Journal of Health Behavior, Volume 24, Number 2

Organized Group Activity as a Protective Factor Against Adolescent Substance Use

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Objective: To investigate the relationship between substance use and extracurricular school activities in a representative sample of adolescents in the southeastern United States. Methods: Using a multiple logistic regression procedure in SPSS Base 8.0 for Windows, we analyzed the relationship of organized group activity with each illegal substance. Results: Adolescents who participated in organized group activities were less likely to smoke cigarettes, drink alcohol, and smoke marijuana when compared to their nonparticipant peers (p=.0001). Conclusion: Previous studies have supported physical activity as a factor that may help prevent substance use. However, our results suggest that participation in organized groups is protective against substance use.

Document Type: Research Article

Affiliations: 1: The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL. 2: The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL.

Publication date: 01 March 2000

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  • The American Journal of Health Behavior seeks to improve the quality of life through multidisciplinary health efforts in fostering a better understanding of the multidimensional nature of both individuals and social systems as they relate to health behaviors.

    The Journal aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the impact of personal attributes, personality characteristics, behavior patterns, social structure, and processes on health maintenance, health restoration, and health improvement; to disseminate knowledge of holistic, multidisciplinary approaches to designing and implementing effective health programs; and to showcase health behavior analysis skills that have been proven to affect health improvement and recovery.

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