Extracurricular activities: are they an effective strategy against drug consumption?

This work describes data obtained among 16,117 high-school students in fifteen Brazilian cities, involving participation in a number of extracurricular activities and consumption of drugs and alcohol. In the great majority of cases, no association was found between attendance of artistic-, community-, or sports-related activities and the use of these substances. On the other hand, a weak but constant negative association was found involving alcohol/drug consumption and attendance of religious activities. The authors discuss these findings in the light of some current preconceptions prevailing in Brazilian society: namely, that such activities constitute effective strategies for drug use prevention and the "idle" young persons tend to be potential drug users. They also discuss the implications that among students involved in religious activities drug and alcohol consumption was shown to become slightly lower.