April 19, 2007

Youth Activities, Substance Use, and Family Income

Research has shown that participation in afterschool activities is associated with higher levels of academic achievement and self-esteem, as well as lower levels of substance use.^1,2 Other research has indicated that these relationships may be moderated by socioeconomic status, such that adolescents from low- to middle-income families demonstrate more positive outcomes from participation in afterschool activities than do youths from high-income families.³

In the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), youths aged 12 to 17 are asked questions about different kinds of school-based, community-based, church- or faith-based, and "other" activities (e.g., karate lessons) they participated in during the past 12 months.⁴ For each type of activity, respondents are asked to report how many different kinds of activities they participated in during the past 12 months. Response options are none, one, two, or three or more. To calculate the total number of activities in which each respondent participated, the number was summed across the four types of activities; responses of three or more were counted as three activities. NSDUH also asks about past month use of cigarettes, alcohol, and illicit drugs⁵ and total annual family income before deductions.

This issue of The NSDUH Report examines the associations between past year youth activities, past month substance use, and family income among youths aged 12 to 17. All findings presented in this report are based on 2005 NSDUH data.

In 2005, most youths aged 12 to 17 (92.4 percent) participated in at least one activity during the past year. Over four fifths (82.0 percent) participated in at least one school-based activity, 71.9 percent in at least one community-based activity, 64.1 percent in at least one church- or faith-based activity, and 42.7 percent in at least one other type of activity.

One third of youths aged 12 to 17 participated in seven or more activities in the past year (33.9 percent), 31.4 percent participated in four to six activities, and 27.1 percent participated in one to three activities. Demographic groups varied in the number of activities reported (Table 1). Females were more likely than males to participate in seven or more activities in the past year (39.6 vs. 28.3 percent), and youths aged 12 or 13 were more likely to participate in seven or more activities than those aged 14 or 15 and those aged 16 or 17 (35.7 vs. 33.4 and 32.6 percent, respectively). Youths from households with higher family incomes were more likely to participate in a greater number of activities than those from households with lower family incomes.

Youths aged 12 to 17 who participated in a greater number of past year activities were less likely to have used cigarettes, alcohol, and illicit drugs in the past month than those who participated in fewer past year activities (Figure 1). For example, 6.8 percent of youths who participated in seven or more activities during the past year used an illicit drug in the past month compared with 18.3 percent of youths who did not participate in any activities.

Figure 1. Percentages of Youths Aged 12 to 17 who Reported Cigarette, Alcohol, and Illicit Drug Use in the Past Month, by Number of Past Year Activities

Regardless of family income level, youths aged 12 to 17 who did not participate in any activities had higher rates of cigarette and illicit drug use than those who participated in four to six or seven or more activities (Figure 2). For example, among youths from families with incomes of less than $20,000, 23.0 percent of those with no past year activities and 10.2 percent of those with seven or more activities smoked cigarettes in the past month; similarly, among youths from families with incomes of $75,000 or more, 28.8 percent of those with no past year activities and 5.7 percent of those with seven or more activities smoked cigarettes in the past month.

Among youths aged 12 to 17 who participated in any activities, those with higher family incomes showed a consistent pattern of decreasing rates of past month cigarette, alcohol, and illicit drug use with increasing numbers of activities, whereas the relationship between substance use and number of activities was less clear among youths with lower family incomes (Figure 2). For example, the rate of past month alcohol use among youths from families with incomes of $75,000 or more was 24.2 percent for those with one to three past year activities, 19.7 percent for those with four to six activities, and 14.3 percent for those with seven or more activities. In comparison, among youths from families with incomes of less than $20,000, 15.0 percent of those with one to three past year activities, 13.0 percent of those with four to six activities, and 15.2 percent of those with seven or more activities drank alcohol in the past month.

Figure 2. Percentages of Youths Aged 12 to 17 who Reported Cigarette, Alcohol, and Illicit Drug Use in the Past Month, by Family Income and Number of Past Year Activities

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