The Analysis of Extracurricular Activities and Parental Monitoring and Their Relationship to Youth Violence

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine how extracurricular activities and parental monitoring relate to rural youth violence. Gender differences were examined across all of the study variables. Self-report data were collected from 235 teenagers from a rural, ethnically diverse, Virginia community. Correlations revealed a significant inverse relationship between church activity as well as parental monitoring and weapon carrying. Significant mean level differences existed between males and females on the following variables: time spent in aerobic exercise activities, time spent in toning exercise activities, weapon carrying frequency, and level of parental monitoring. In addition, time in non-school clubs was the best predictor of sample youth classification in either the "violent" category or "nonviolent" category. Findings emphasize the importance of parental monitoring for youth as well as the need for more programs and after-school activities to meet the needs of all youth.