Extracurricular activity participation and adolescent antisocial behavior: The role of deviant peer affiliation and perceived friendship closeness

Previous empirical studies have found that participation in extracurricular activities is associated with lower levels of antisocial behavior (ABEA association). However, why participants in extracurricular activities have lower levels of antisocial behavior is unclear. The current study aimed to clarify the ABEA association by investigating the role of two dimensions of adolescent peer and friendship relationships-deviant peer affiliation and perceived friendship closeness. The current study used data from the National Study on Adolescent Health (Add Health, N = 1,729). Path analyses were conducted in Mplus and indicated that deviant peer affiliation did not mediate the ABEA association. However, results from negative binomial regressions conducted in STATA showed deviant peer affiliation moderated the ABEA association--deviant peer affiliation was associated with higher levels of aggressive antisocial behavior for music non-participants and higher levels of nonaggressive antisocial behavior for sports participants. Negative binomial regressions conducted in STATA also indicated that perceived friendship closeness served as a moderator in that higher perceived friendship closeness was associated with higher nonaggressive antisocial behavior for creative participants. The results of the current study show that deviant peer affiliation and perceived friendship closeness play a role in further understanding the ABEA association. An in depth investigation of peer dynamics within extracurricular activities is suggested to further disentangle the role of activity cultures and peer relationships within extracurricular activities.