Adolescent Activities and Family-Related Transitions

Gina A. Erickson, University of Minnesota

Academic research and popular press accounts note two potentially competing trends in childhood, adolescence and the transition to adulthood: youth are either “growing up to fast” (by being over-scheduled in various extracurricular activities) or “failing to launch” (by returning to their parents’ home and delaying movement into family and career). This paper assesses these two notions by investigating rates of family formation by activity participation in adolescents. Preliminary results using a nationally representative longitudinal sample of over 11,000 respondents (Add Health), suggest that, on average, youth who participate in activities are less likely to be married, cohabiting, or parents by young adulthood, with differences in each transition by activity types.