Australian Journal of Psychology

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Extracurricular activity participation in early

adolescence predicts coping efficacy one year later

Gabriel P. Heaslip, Helen Davis & Bonnie L. Barber

To cite this article: Gabriel P. Heaslip, Helen Davis & Bonnie L. Barber (2021) Extracurricular
activity participation in early adolescence predicts coping efficacy one year later, Australian
Journal of Psychology, 73:3, 306-315, DOI: 10.1080/00049530.2021.1884000

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/00049530.2021.1884000

Published online: 14 Feb 2021.

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AUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLOGY
2021, VOL. 73, NO. 3, 306–315
https://doi.org/10.1080/00049530.2021.1884000

Extracurricular activity participation in early adolescence predicts coping

efficacy one year later
a
Gabriel P. Heaslip , Helen Davisa and Bonnie L. Barber b

a
School of Psychology and Exercise Science, Murdoch University, Perth, Australia; bGriffith Health Executive, Griffith University, Southport,
Australia

ABSTRACT ARTICLE HISTORY

Objective: Our research investigated whether extracurricular activity intensity in early adoles­ Received 20 March 2020
cence predicted coping efficacy one year later. The study also tested whether activity partici­ Accepted 27 August 2020
pation intensity showed a linear or a nonlinear relationship with coping efficacy. KEYWORDS
Method: Year 8 students (N = 1,162; M = 13 years; SD = .35) reported on extracurricular Adolescence; coping;
activities and coping efficacy, and repeated the survey in year 9. extracurricular activity;
Results: Greater sporting intensity predicted greater coping efficacy. In contrast, non-sporting intensity; longitudinal
activity intensity had a quadratic association with coping efficacy, suggesting that different
types of activity participation might have different optimal patterns of participation. After
controlling for gender, school SES, initial coping efficacy, and current activity participation,
non-sporting activity intensity in grade 8 remained significantly associated (linearly and quad­
ratically) with coping efficacy one year later.
Conclusion: Our results offer preliminary evidence that extracurricular activity participation in early
adolescence predicts better coping efficacy. The quadratic results indicate that very high levels of
activity participation may not be necessary to capitalize on the positive effects of activity participation.

KEY POINTS
What is already known about this topic:
(1) Early adolescence can be a particularly salient period of development for young people.
(2) Coping with stress is an important skill for adolescents to develop and protect against
negative outcomes.
(3) Extracurricular activities are positive environments for adolescents to spend their leisure time.
What this study adds:
(1) This study established that extracurricular participation intensity during early adolescence
predicts coping efficacy one year later.
(2) We found that non-sporting activities contribute to coping efficacy, independent of the
effects of sporting activities.
(3) Additionally, the research indicated a positive linear association between sporting intensity
and coping efficacy, whereas non-sporting intensity showed an inverted U-shaped associa­
tion with coping efficacy.

Early adolescence is a dynamic phase of a young person’s
life that can, for some, involve heightened stress (Larson
& Ham, 1993; Van Roekel et al., 2015). During this key
developmental period, adolescents experience multiple,
concurrent changes such as puberty, shifting peer and
family relations and the transition to high school. These
changes can lead to heightened stress with a potential
negative impact on adolescents’ psychological health
including lower self-esteem, increased internalizing and
externalizing problems (Buehler & Gerard, 2013;
Simmons et al., 1987). Developing skills in early
adolescence to cope with stress is vital for a healthy
transition into adulthood. One critical aspect of mana­
ging stress in adolescence is coping efficacy. Previous
literature has documented numerous benefits to well­
being experienced by young people who participate in
extracurricular activities (Farb & Matjasko, 2012; Barber
et al., 2001). Although participation may plausibly con­
tribute to adolescent coping efficacy, little is known
about this relationship. Our research investigates
whether participation in extracurricular activities in early
adolescence predicts coping efficacy one year later.

CONTACT Gabriel P. Heaslip gabrielheaslip@gmail.com

This manuscript is an original piece of work. No other version of this research has been published or is under consideration for publication elsewhere. The
content of the manuscript has been contributed to and approved by all authors.
This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.
© 2021 Australian Psychological Society

Coping is defined as cognitive and behavioural
attempts to manage stressors that are judged as
exceeding the resources of the person (Lazarus &
Folkman, 1984). Effective coping abilities have been
linked to a range of positive outcomes for young peo­
ple including higher self-esteem, fewer symptoms of
depression, fewer conduct problems, and greater
social and academic competence (Compas et al.,
2001; Seiffge-Krenke, 2000). An important component
of the stress response is coping efficacy, which is the
belief that one has dealt well with stressors in the past
and can deal effectively with the stressors one is likely
to encounter in the future and in novel situations
(Drake et al., 2016; Sandler et al., 2000). Coping efficacy
is similar to coping self-efficacy in that involves making
an appraisal of coping abilities, meaning that it
involves a cognitive evaluation that one can manage
the demands of a stressful situation (Hamill, 2003).
Positive coping efficacy has been shown to be asso­
ciated with lower adolescent internalizing and risk-
taking behaviours (Drake et al., 2016; Heaslip &
Barber, 2017; Skinner & Zimmer-Gembeck, 2011).
Positive coping efficacy has also been associated with
less post-traumatic stress symptomology in adoles­
cents following traumatic events (Langley & Jones,
2005) and less somatic symptoms of stress (Massey
et al., 2009). Additionally, low coping efficacy has
been found to mediate the relationship between stress
and negative outcomes such as loneliness and depres­
sive symptoms (Drake et al., 2016; Prelow et al., 2006;
Sandler et al., 2000). Bandura (1997) describes coping
efficacy as being associated with the perception of
exercising control over threatening circumstances,
which allows for positive action to be taken that may
reduce the likelihood of negative outcomes. Holding
confident beliefs about one’s ability to cope with stress
increases feelings of controllability and calms the
stress response (Maier & Watkins, 2010).
Early adolescence is a period of changes across
cognitive, social, and emotional domains (Larson &
Ham, 1993). Simmons et al. (1987) found that success­
ful coping is particularly difficult during early adoles­
cence due to the concurrence of multiple life
transitions. Relationship stressors, for example, bully­
ing and conflict with peers, are commonly faced by
adolescents in a manner that is distinct from what may
have been experienced in childhood (Donaldson et al.,
2000).
Furthermore, in early adolescence, young people
begin to experiment with different strategies to deal
with stress, making it an important period in the devel­
opment of coping abilities (Seiffge-Krenke et al., 2009).
Although there is evidence that young adolescents
AUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLOGY 307
apply increasingly sophisticated skills to dealing with
stress such as increased use of emotion-focused and
active forms of coping (Seiffge-Krenke et al., 2009;
Zimmer-Gembeck & Skinner, 2011), the use of mala­
daptive coping such as withdrawal also increases dur­
ing early adolescence (Hampel & Petermann, 2005;
Seiffge-Krenke et al., 2009). Therefore, as adolescents
begin to experiment with the use of different coping
strategies to manage increased stress, coping efficacy
may act as a protective mechanism by building con­
fidence in the appraisals made when faced with stress
(Drake et al., 2016).
In addition to developmental changes, gender
and socioeconomic status (SES) have also been asso­
ciated with differences in coping among adoles­
cents. Research has found that girls perceive
challenges with peer groups to be more stressful
and expect negative outcomes from stress to
a greater extent than boys indicating that there are
gender differences in coping in adolescents
(Newcomb et al., 1986; Seiffge-Krenke et al., 2009).
Adolescents of higher SES have been shown to cope
more positively with stress compared to those of
lower SES, suggesting a potential link to the amount
of stress exposure (Bradley & Corwyn, 2002).
Adolescents from low-SES families are exposed to
higher levels of daily hassles, uncontrollable life
events, and chronic stress (Evans & Kim, 2013), pos­
sibly overwhelming emerging coping efforts and
undermining coping efficacy.
Extracurricular activities are organized and struc­
tured leisure time pursuits, leading to a range of posi­
tive indicators of adolescent wellbeing and protecting
against risky substance use among Australian adoles­
cents (Barber et al., 2014; Farb & Matjasko, 2012;
McCabe et al., 2016). Therefore, it is plausible that
extracurricular activities can provide opportunities for
young people to learn to cope with challenge and
build confidence when facing setbacks.
Extracurricular activities have been found to foster
skills associated with more positive coping. Hansen
et al. (2003) found that adolescents experience emo­
tional learning, such as managing anger and stress, in
extracurricular activities. Extracurricular activities pro­
vide opportunities to overcome challenges in a safe
and supportive context, thus facilitating the develop­
ment of positive coping efficacy. For example, activ­
ities often require participants to work towards goals
with such endeavours creating opportunities to over­
come challenges and emotional strain (Salusky et al.,
2014). Extracurricular participation may also be bene­
ficial during times of stress. Adolescents who partici­
pate in extracurricular activities across the transition to
308 G. P. HEASLIP ET AL.
high school have been shown to experience social and
emotional benefits (Bohnert et al., 2013). Dealing with
manageable challenges encountered in extracurricular
activities may be important for building positive beliefs
about one’s abilities to manage future stressors.
Activity participation creates situations where adoles­
cents experience challenges, such as competition loss
and leadership disappointments that provide opportu­
nities to practice and refine coping skills, thereby
building greater confidence to overcome future stress.
Extracurricular activity participation has also been
associated with intentional self-regulation skills in ado­
lescents (Mueller et al., 2011). Intentional self-
regulation draws on similar skills to coping efficacy in
that it involves adolescents selecting and optimizing
resources in response to their environment
(Gestsdóttir & Lerner, 2008).
Previous research has also found that different
types of extracurricular activities, such as particular
sports and non-sporting activities provide different
developmental experiences for adolescents (Larson
et al., 2006). Different types of extracurricular activ­
ities offer meaningful differences in the opportunities
that they provide adolescents due to the specific
conditions of the environment such as the culture,
and the focus on different goals and tasks (Hansen
et al., 2010). For example, sporting activities, defined
as organized team or individual sport, have been
shown to provide opportunities for initiative, whereas
non-sporting activities, such as performing arts, pro­
vide opportunities to build social capital (Larson et al.,
2006). These different developmental experiences
may uniquely influence coping efficacy. Therefore,
we investigated sporting and non-sporting activities
separately as predictors of coping efficacy.
Greater intensity of participation, defined as the
number of hours spent in an activity, provides adoles­
cents with more opportunities for exposure to benefits
of activity participation. Spending more time in activ­
ities generally appears to offer incremental increases in
a range of positive outcomes (A. Bohnert et al., 2010;
Denault & Poulin, 2009). Bohnert and Garber (2007)
found higher levels of activity participation, after con­
trolling for initial psychopathology, were correlated
with less substance use and fewer externalizing beha­
viours. Mahoney and Vest (2012) reported that more
time in extracurricular activities predicted psychologi­
cal flourishing, which included higher frequency of
experiencing positive emotional, social, and psycholo­
gical wellbeing.
Although research has generally shown that more
time spent in extracurricular activities results in greater
benefits to adolescents, there has been some research
indicating that these benefits may not continue to
increase beyond a certain number of hours (Mahoney
et al., 2006). Such findings illustrate a threshold effect,
where very high levels of intensity are associated with
a tapering off of positive outcomes (Busseri et al., 2006;
Randall & Bohnert, 2009). For example, Matjasko et al.
(2019) found a threshold effect between participation
intensity and adolescent bullying and fighting at three
to four hours per week. However, this nonlinear phenom­
enon has not, to date, been well replicated. Therefore, the
current study tested for nonlinear associations between
extracurricular activity participation and coping efficacy.
Previous research has highlighted gender and SES
differences in adolescent’s participation in activities.
Boys are less likely to participate in arts-based activities
than girls (Mansour et al., 2016). Australian adolescents
from low SES communities are less likely to participate
in and more likely to drop out of extracurricular activ­
ities (Baldwin & O’Flaherty, 2018; O’Donnell & Barber,
2020). Hoffmann (2006) reported that higher SES
schools are financially capable of providing students
with a more diverse range of extracurricular activities.
Thus, gender and SES differences are important to
account for in the current research.
The current study
The current study had three objectives concerning the
relationship between extracurricular activity intensity
and adolescent coping efficacy. The first objective was
to test whether extracurricular participation intensity
during early adolescence predicted future coping effi­
cacy, controlling for concurrent activity participation
and demographics. It was expected that higher levels
of extracurricular activity intensity in early adolescence
would predict more positive coping efficacy one year
later. The second objective was to compare the pre­
dictive strength of participation in sporting and non-
sporting activities and to test whether they made
independent or overlapping contributions to coping
efficacy. The third objective was to test whether activ­
ity participation intensity showed a linear or
a nonlinear relationship with coping efficacy.
Method
Participants
The study included students from the Youth Activity
Participation Study of Western Australia (YAPS-WA).
Participants were from 39 schools (21 government, 18
non-government). The sample included 1,162 year 8
students (56% female) who participated in the YAPS-

WA longitudinal survey during two years of data col­
lection. The mean age of participants in year 8 was
13 years (SD = .35). Of the sample, 81.8% were
Caucasian, 7.5% Asian, 1.5% Aboriginal or Torres
Strait Islander, 1.4% African, 0.6% Middle Eastern stu­
dents; 4.2% were from other ethnic backgrounds and
2.9% did not report their ethnicity.
Procedure
Ethical approval was granted by the University Human
Research Ethics Committee, the Department of
Education, and the Catholic Education Office.
Participation required both informed parent and stu­
dent consent. The survey was administered at school
via laptop computers, iPads, or equivalent pen and
paper format. Students logged onto the survey using
a unique identification number, which was used at
both testing times, allowing for confidentiality while
following students over time. Participants were
entered into a small prize draw in recognition of their
time invested.
Measures
Coping efficacy
Coping efficacy was measured using two items starting
with the stem “How often do you” (“feel that you are
capable of coping with most of your problems?” and
“keep a cool head in emergencies?”). Participants in
wave one of data collection responded on a 5-point
scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree) and
then a 6-point scale from 1 (never) to 6 (daily) in wave
two (α = .55). Items were drawn from previous research
into coping (Zweig et al., 1997) and have been pre­
viously used to measure coping efficacy in adolescents
(Heaslip & Barber, 2017). Coping efficacy scores corre­
lated positively with self-esteem, r = .60, p < .001, and
negatively with depressed mood, r = – .20, p < .001,
indicating convergent validity.
Extracurricular activity intensity
Participants were presented with a list of 17 sporting
activities (e.g., basketball, swimming) and 16 non-
sporting activities (e.g., Scouts, music) and asked to
specify activities in which they were involved during
the year. Participants were also provided with an
“other” category to enter their activity if not listed.
The lists of activities were developed based previous
research (Eccles & Barber, 1999; Feldman & Matjasko,
2007) and Australian pilot testing. Participants were
asked to report how many hours per week they parti­
cipated in each activity. The total numbers of hours per
AUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLOGY 309
week reported across all sporting activities (ranging
from 0 to 37 hours) and across non-sporting activities
(ranging from 0 to 22 hours) were used as the mea­
sures of the intensity of activity participation.
Adolescents who reported no activity participation
were coded as zero.
School socio-economic status
School SES was measured using the Index of
Community Socio-Educational Advantage (ICSEA)
from the Western Australian Department of
Education and Training. The ICSEA reflects information
on the education, income, occupation, ethnicity, and
single-parent status of each student’s household, and
the school’s geographical location. The ICSEA is com­
puted by gathering information from the Australian
Bureau of Statistics and is scaled to a median of 1,000
(SD = 100; Australian Curriculum, Assessment and
Reporting Authority [ACARA], 2012). Schools in this
sample ranged between two SD above and below
the state mean on the ICSEA with scores ranging
from 798 to 1188 with a median of 1009.
Results
Table 1 presents descriptive statistics and bivariate
correlations for all study variables. For participants
with missing data (17.5%), scale scores were imputed
using the EM algorithm in SPSS (Schafer & Graham,
2002). Missing data analysis demonstrated that miss­
ingness was present completely at random. Pearson’s
correlations showed that coping efficacy in year 8 was
modestly but significantly associated with coping effi­
cacy in year 9, indicating some consistency in coping
efficacy over time. Similarly, intensity of participation in
sports and non-sports appeared moderately stable
from year 8 to year 9. Sporting intensity in year 8
correlated significantly and positively with coping effi­
cacy in years 8 and 9. Non-sporting intensity in year 9,
but not year 8, was significantly and positively corre­
lated with coping efficacy in year 9. Male gender was
significantly and positively associated with coping effi­
cacy in years 8 and 9. Higher school SES was signifi­
cantly and positively associated with coping efficacy in
years 8 and 9. Higher SES was associated with greater
participation in sports and non-sports in year 8 and 9.
The Pearson’s correlation coefficient showed that boys
spent significantly more time in sports across years 8
and 9 and significantly less time in non-sports than
girls in year 8 and 9.
To test for quadratic relationships between activity
intensity and coping efficacy within year 8 and 9, and
across time, a series of curvilinear regression analyses
310 G. P. HEASLIP ET AL.

Table 1. Descriptive statistics and correlations for each study measure (N = 1,162).
Variables 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
1. Year 8 Coping efficacy -
2. Year 9 Coping efficacy .33** -
3. Year 8 Sporting intensity .12** .13** -
4. Year 8 Non-sporting intensity .02 .07 .14** -
5. Year 9 Sporting intensity .08** .12** .63** .10** -
6. Year 9 Non-Sporting intensity .02 .09** .05 .56** .08* -
7. Gender .06* .12** .19** −.16** .23** −.17** -
8. School SES .11** .14** .16** .21** .20** .15** −.16** -
Mean 3.68a 4.12 7.50 2.65 8.44 3.52 0.44 1021.82
Standard deviation 0.68 0.97 7.57 4.21 8.72 5.04 0.50 84.75
Gender: Girls = 0; Boys = 1.
a
In Year 8, coping efficacy was measured on a 5-point scale, thus mean and SD are not directly comparable with Year 9.
* < .05; ** <.01.

were conducted, using participation intensity as Extracurricular activity intensity predicting coping
a predictor and coping efficacy as the criterion. Only efficacy one year later
significant results are reported. Sporting intensity
Hierarchical regressions were used to assess whether
in year 8 showed a significant quadratic relationship
extracurricular activity intensity in year 8 predicted
with coping efficacy in year 9, R2 = .03, p < .001, pre­
coping efficacy in year 9. Gender, school SES and year
dicted coping efficacy = −.001x2 + .048x + 3.87
8 coping efficacy were added at step one as covariates.
(x = hours of participation); optimal coping efficacy
In step two of the model, year 8 sporting and non-
occurred at 24 hours of participation per week.
sporting linear and quadratic intensity variables were
Non-sporting intensity in year 8 had a significant,
added. In the final step of the model, year 9 sporting
quadratic relationship with coping efficacy in year 8,
and non-sporting linear and quadratic intensity vari­
R2 = .02, p < .001, predicted coping efficacy = −.004x
2 ables were added.
+ .064x + 3.60, with optimal coping efficacy in year 8
The regression results are presented in Table 2. At
occurring at 8 hours of non-sporting participation. Non-
step one of the analysis, higher school SES, male gen­
sporting activities in years 8 and 9 both had
der and higher initial levels of coping efficacy were all
significant, quadratic relationships with coping efficacy
significant independent predictors of coping efficacy
in year 9; R2 = .02, p < .001, predicted coping
in year 9. At step two, gender, school SES and initial
efficacy = −.005x2 + .085x + 3.98 and R2 = .02, p < .001,
coping efficacy continued to significantly predict ado­
predicted coping efficacy = −.002x2 + .056x + 3.99,
lescent coping efficacy one year later. Additionally,
respectively. Optimal coping efficacy in year 9 occurred
greater sporting intensity in year 8 significantly pre­
at 10.6 hours of non-sporting participation in year 8 and
dicted coping efficacy in year 9. For non-sporting activ­
14 hours in year 9.
ity intensity in year 8, both linear and quadratic terms

Table 2. Summary of hierarchical regression analysis for variables predicting adolescent coping efficacy in year 9 from
extracurricular participation intensity variables and covariates (N = 748).
Model 1 Model 2 Model 3
Variable B SE B β B SE B β B SE B β
Constant 0.83 1.29** 1.36**
School SES 0.00 0.00 .12** 0.00 0.00 .07* 0.00 0.00 .06
Gender 0.18 0.07 .09* 0.18 0.07 .09* 0.18 0.07 .09*
Year 8 Coping efficacy 0.46 0.04 .36** 0.44 0.04 .34** 0.44 0.04 .34**
Year 8 Sporting Intensity 0.02 0.01 .21* 0.02 0.01 .16
Year 8 Sporting Intensity2 −0.00 0.00 −.14 −0.00 0.00 -.12
Year 8 Non-Sporting Intensity 0.06 0.02 .26** 0.05 0.02 .23*
Year 8 Non-Sporting Intensity2 −0.00 0.00 −.23** −0.01 0.00 -.19*
Year 9 Sporting Intensity 0.01 0.01 .08
Year 9 Sporting Intensity2 0.00 0.00 -.04
Year 9 Non-Sporting Intensity 0.02 0.02 .12
Year 9 Non-Sporting Intensity2 −0.00 0.00 -.14
ΔR2 .17 .02 0.01
F for change in R2 49.69** 4.10** 1.04
df 3, 745 7, 741 11,737
Gender (girls = 0; boys = 1).
* < .05; ** <.01.

Figure 1. Quadratic relationship of extracurricular non-sporting activity intensity and coping efficacy one year later after
controlling for the covariates, year 8 coping efficacy, and current participation.
also significantly predicted adolescent coping efficacy
in year 9. In step three, gender and initial levels of
coping efficacy remained significant predictors of cop­
ing efficacy in year 9. Furthermore, year 8 non-sporting
intensity, both linear and quadratic (Figure 1) terms,
remained significant predictors of adolescent coping
efficacy in year 9, over and above the effects of current
extracurricular activity participation, none of which
were significant.
Discussion
Our main findings revealed that non-sporting activity
participation intensity in year 8 was a significant pre­
dictor of adolescent coping efficacy in year 9. This
finding remained significant after controlling for gen­
der, school SES, initial coping efficacy and year 9 parti­
cipation in extracurricular activities. We also found that
boys reported higher coping efficacy than girls.
Furthermore, adolescents with more positive coping
efficacy in year 8 continued to report significantly more
positive coping efficacy one year later.
Building on previous research that has found extra­
curricular activities to be beneficial to adolescent well­
being (Farb & Matjasko, 2012; Barber et al., 2001;
Larson, 2000), our study demonstrates that benefits
may extend to coping efficacy. Activities can offer
a range of positive experiences to adolescents, such
as opportunities to develop initiative and identity
(Hansen et al., 2010; Larson et al., 2006) and it could
be that greater confidence in these key developmental
tasks enhances perceptions of one’s ability to cope.
Activities may foster coping efficacy by providing
opportunities for experiencing and learning to deal
AUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLOGY 311
with disappointment within a supportive environment
(Larson et al., 2006).
Our study showed that participation in non-
sporting activities in year 8 predicted coping efficacy
one year later, over and above the effects of current
participation, demographics, and initial coping effi­
cacy. These results are important because they show
that the effects of non-sporting activities endure
beyond the activities themselves. In contrast, the long­
itudinal associations with sporting participation did
not remain significant after controlling for concurrent
participation. This implies that non-sporting activities,
such as performance and fine arts, are not merely
enjoyable pastimes that enhance immediate coping
efficacy but also serve a developmental function. We
speculate that they could provide young people
opportunities for self-reflection and self-expression,
which may, over time, build greater confidence in
their ability to cope with stressful circumstances in
the future (Hansen et al., 2010). The results are also
important as they point to participation in year 8 as
being particularly salient in the development of posi­
tive coping efficacy. The early years of high school may
be essential in providing opportunities to build con­
fidence in dealing with stress through early exposure
to both the positive and challenging experiences of
greater intensity participation in extracurricular
activities.
Interestingly, we found the relationship between
non-sporting activities and adolescent coping efficacy
to be better described by a non-linear than a linear
function. Consistent with previous literature (Larson
et al., 2006), sporting activities showed a linear rela­
tionship with adolescent coping efficacy and, where
the quadratic function was significant, its superiority
312 G. P. HEASLIP ET AL.
over the linear model was unconvincing. The non-
linear result for non-sporting activities indicates that
there may be a “threshold effect” whereby more hours
spent in non-sporting activities are associated with
more positive coping efficacy up until a point, beyond
which coping efficacy gains taper off, or even slightly
decline. Some previous studies have found a similar
threshold effect for activities with respect to depres­
sive symptoms and risk behaviour (Busseri et al., 2006;
Randall & Bohnert, 2009). The suggestion that over-
scheduling creates more stress for an adolescent is
consistent with this non-linear result, but we note
that this is inconsistent with our results from sporting
participation, and further research will be necessary to
identify reasons for this non-linear effect. The optimal
number of hours for non-sporting participation in our
study was high: 10.6 hours in year 8 and 14 hours per
week in year 9, illustrating that participation was only
associated with a reduction in beneficial outcomes at
high levels of intensity. Young people’s capacity to
benefit from greater intensity of non-sporting activities
increases from year 8 to year 9. The increase in hours
may reflect adolescents’ increasingly sophisticated
coping abilities that are being practiced and refined,
perhaps enabling adolescents to feel more confident
to participate at higher intensity in year 9.
The findings in this study have a number of
strengths contributing to the literature on activity par­
ticipation, extending previous research to build our
understanding of the benefits of extracurricular activ­
ities. Although extracurricular activities have been
found to be associated with positive outcomes, there
is limited research on whether activities help to build
coping efficacy. Our study includes a large sample of
Australian adolescents from a diverse range of SES
school environments. Our research also involves multi­
ple waves of data as preliminary evidence for the
immediate and also enduring benefits of extracurricu­
lar activities for adolescents.
Our findings have practical implications for clinical
practice. There are limitations in our abilities to reach
adolescents one-on-one to build important coping
skills. Extracurricular activities provide opportunities
and access to environments that foster strengths in
young people. Whereas developing and implementing
programmes for adolescents can be expensive, much
of the infrastructure required for organised activities is
already in place within schools and communities to
deliver benefits universally, in a cost-effective manner.
Investment in extracurricular activities may provide
opportunities for school and community-based
promotion and prevention programs for building cop­
ing efficacy in young people.
The current study should be considered in light of
its limitations. First, SES was controlled at the school,
rather than individual level. Nevertheless, as the
school-based SES measure is composed of individual
level variables, they necessarily overlap. Second, the
measurement of coping efficacy was not optimal. The
response scale was not identical between years 8 and
9, changing from 5 to 6-point Likert scales. This is
unlikely to impact our correlational results, but does
prevent us from measuring change in absolute terms.
Its other shortcoming was its modest level of internal
reliability, suggesting that random error may have
affected responses. While this is a limitation of our
study, we note that unreliable measures serve to
underestimate true correlations, not to create spurious
ones and that the coping efficacy scale still successfully
predicted itself over one year, and other theoretically
related variables, such as self-esteem.
Finally, it is not possible to make strong causal claims
in this paper. Although the longitudinal design of our
research provides valuable information that activity par­
ticipation predicts later coping efficacy, we are unable to
eliminate all other nonspurious influences. It is unlikely
that better copers simply elected to participate with
optimal intensity in Year 8 since the association
remained after we statistically controlled for Year 8
coping efficacy (random assignment to levels of activity
not being feasible). Nevertheless, we cannot rule out the
possible influence of some unmeasured factor affecting
both participation and coping efficacy.
In conclusion, we established that extracurricular par­
ticipation intensity during early adolescence predicts
coping efficacy one year later. Our study highlights the
importance of extracurricular participation in early ado­
lescence, not just immediately, but also for the longer-
term development of coping efficacy. We found that
non-sporting activities contribute to coping efficacy,
independent of the effects of sporting activities; however,
we are not able to draw clear conclusions regarding
sports, except to say that their benefits overlap with
other variables in our study. We showed that the simple
association between sporting intensity and coping effi­
cacy was best described as positive and linear, whereas
non-sporting intensity showed a nonlinear association
with coping efficacy. Our results offer preliminary evi­
dence that activity participation in the salient years of
early adolescence predicts better coping efficacy. It
appears that participating in non-sporting activities for
up to two hours per day may be optimal for adolescents

to build confidence in their ability to overcome stress.
Acknowledgments
The Youth Activity Participation Study of Western Australia
has been funded by grants under Australian Research
Council’s Discovery Projects funding scheme: DP0774125
and DP1095791 to Bonnie Barber and Jacquelynne Eccles,
and DP130104670 to Bonnie Barber, Kathryn Modecki, and
Jacquelynne Eccles. We would like to thank the high school
principals, their staff, and the students who participated in
the YAPS-WA study. We would also like to thank everyone in
the YAPS-WA team for their contributions to data collection
and management.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Funding
This work was supported by the Australian Research Council
[DP0774125,DP1095791,DP130104670].
ORCID
Gabriel P. Heaslip http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6750-8237
Bonnie L. Barber http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8799-8453
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