| The purpose of the present study was to examine the interrelationship between risky online adolescent behaviors and organized activities. This interrelationship between variables has not been studied before and is beneficial for identifying adolescent risk factors for risky online behavior. Four hundred and sixty-two undergraduate college students completed a questionnaires with items asking if they had visited websites encouraging weight loss or minimal eating, encouraging harm to oneself or others or having sexual overtones. For each website questions were asked about what motivated participants to visit these sites. Furthermore, participants were questioned on their perception of safety in chat rooms and risk-taking behaviors in chat rooms. The organized activities that were studied included being a member of a sports team, extracurricular activities, religious community, and/or religious activities. Significant t tests were found for parental supervision when compared to perception of safety in chat rooms and risktaking behaviors in chat rooms. A significant chi square was found showing that more participation in extracurricular activities had higher rates of visiting websites with sexual overtones. Significant chi square and t tests for gender differences were found as well as significant MANOVA tests of ethnicity and age differences. Possible explanations for findings, limitations, and implications are discussed. |
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