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The Role of School-Based Extracurricular Activities in Adolescent Development: A Comprehensive Review and Future Directions

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Jennifer L. Matjasko

University of Texas at Austin

This article reviews the contemporary literature on school-based activity participation, focusing on patterns of participation, academic achievement, substance use, sexual activity, psychological adjustment, delinquency, and young adult outcomes. Also, the authors discuss possible mediators and moderators of extracurricular activity participation in regard to adolescent development. The review indicates that the associations between school-based activity participation and these outcomes are mostly positive but that the picture becomes mixed once moderator variables are included. The authors suggest areas for future research that include using new methods for measuring activities and applying an overarching theoretical framework to investigations of extracurricular activities and adolescent development. Finally, to move toward a causal model of activities and adolescent functioning, future research must consider the mechanisms through which activities exert their influence on development. The authors propose several possible mechanisms of participation in terms of adjustment during adolescence and young adulthood.

Key Words: academic achievement • adolescents • ecological systems theory • extracurricular activities • selection • substance use • well-being

Review of Educational Research, Vol. 75, No. 2, 159-210 (2005)
DOI: 10.3102/00346543075002159


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