Adolescent work experiences and family formation behavior

Citation

Staff, Jeremy; Van Eseltine, Matthew; Woolnough, April; Silver, Eric; & Burrington, Lori (2012). Adolescent work experiences and family formation behavior. Journal of Research on Adolescence. vol. 22 (1) pp. 150-164 , PMCID: PMC3378333

Abstract

A long-standing critique of adolescent employment is that it engenders a precocious maturity of more adult-like roles and behaviors, including school disengagement, substance use, sexual activity, inadequate sleep and exercise, and work-related stress. Though negative effects of high-intensity work on adolescent adjustment have been found, little research has addressed whether such work experiences are associated with precocious family formation behaviors in adolescence, such as sexual intercourse, pregnancy, residential independence, and union formation. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, we find that teenagers who spend long hours on the job during the school year are more likely to experience these family formation behaviors earlier than youth who work moderately or not at all.

URL

http://dx.doi.org/10.1111%2Fj.1532-7795.2011.00755.x

Reference Type

Journal Article

Journal Title

Journal of Research on Adolescence

Author(s)

Staff, Jeremy
Van Eseltine, Matthew
Woolnough, April
Silver, Eric
Burrington, Lori

Year Published

2012

Volume Number

22

Issue Number

1

Pages

150-164

ISSN/ISBN

1050-8392

DOI

10.1111/j.1532-7795.2011.00755.x

PMCID

PMC3378333

NIHMSID

NIHMS316261

Reference ID

1567