Bioecological theory suggests that adolescents’ health is a result of selection and socialization processes occurring between adolescents and their microsettings. This study examines the association between adolescents’ friends and health using a social network model and data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (N = 1,896, mean age = 15.97 years). Results indicated evidence of friend influence on BMI and physical activity. Friendships were more likely among adolescents who engaged in greater physical activity and who were similar to one another in BMI and physical activity. These effects emerged after controlling for alternative friend selection factors, such as endogenous social network processes and propinquity through courses and activities. Some selection effects were moderated by gender, popularity, and reciprocity.

Extracurricular activities are settings that are theorized to help adolescents maintain existing friendships and develop new friendships. The overarching goal of the current investigation was to examine whether co-participating in school-based extracurricular activities supported adolescents’ school-based friendships. We utilized social network methods and data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health to examine whether dyadic friendship ties were more likely to exist among activity co-participants while controlling for alternative friendship processes, namely dyadic homophily (e.g., demographic and behavioral similarities) and network-level processes (e.g., triadic closure). Results provide strong evidence that activities were associated with current friendships and promoted the formation of new friendships. These associations varied based on school level (i.e., middle versus high school) and activity type (i.e., sports, academic, arts). Results of this study provide new insight into the complex relations between activities and friendship that can inform theories of their developmental outcomes.

Concern exists that youth who spend a lot of time participating in organized out-of-school activities (e.g., sports) are at-risk for poor developmental outcomes. This concern – called the over-scheduling hypothesis – has primarily been assessed in terms of adolescent adjustment. This longitudinal study of a nationally representative sample of 1,115 youth (ages 12–18) assessed long-term relations between intensity of participation during adolescence and adjustment at young adulthood (ages 18–24). Time diaries measured intensity as hours per week of participation. Results showed that, controlling for demographic factors and baseline adjustment, intensity was a significant predictor of positive outcomes (e.g., psychological flourishing, civic engagement, educational attainment) and unrelated to indicators of problematic adjustment (e.g., psychological distress, substance use, antisocial behavior) at young adulthood.

This investigation examined the precursors of adolescents' participation in sport and music activities in the United States by testing a developmental model across 7 years. Data were drawn from youth questionnaires in the Childhood and Beyond Study (92% European American; N = 594). Findings suggest that patterns of participation across a 3-year period in elementary school predict adolescents' participation through their motivational beliefs. Specifically, children who participated in an activity, children who participated consistently across multiple years, and children who were highly active had higher adolescent motivational beliefs 4 years later than their peers. These motivational beliefs, in turn, positively predicted adolescents' participation 1 year later. Cross-domain analyses suggest that children typically maintain their orientation toward sports and music (e.g., high music-low sport orientation, not oriented toward either domain) as they age. These findings highlight the consistency in children's leisure pursuits and interests from childhood through adolescence.

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