Organized group activity as a protective factor against adolescent substance use

Objective: To investigate the relationship between substance use and extrac urricular school activities in a representative sample of adolescents in th e southeastern United States. Methods: Using a multiple logistic regression procedure in SPSS Base 8.0 for Windows, we analyzed the relationship of or ganized group activity with each illegal substance. Results: Adolescents wh o participated in organized group activities were less likely to smoke ciga rettes, drink alcohol, and smoke marijuana when compared to their nonpartic ipant peers (p=.0001). Conclusion: Previous studies have supported physical activity as a factor that may help prevent substance use, However, our res ults suggest that participation in organized groups is protective against s ubstance use.