Working in High School and Adaptation in the Transition to Young Adulthood Among African American Youth

• NCJ Number: 220281
• Journal: Journal of Youth and Adolescence Volume: 36 Issue: 7 Dated: October 2007 Pages: 877-890
• Author(s): Jose A. Bauermeister; Marc A. Zimmerman; Tracey E. Barnett; Cleopatra Howard Caldwell
• Date Published: October 2007
• Length: 14 pages
• Grant Number(s): R01-DA07484; P30-MH43520
• Sponsoring Agency: National Institute on Drug Abuse; National Institute of Mental Health
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study examined the effects of employment on African-American adolescence.

Abstract

The results supported the works benefit perspective that working during adolescence may not have negative health consequences for African-American youth. This study examined the association between work and problem behaviors among African-American youth (N=592; 53 percent female; average age= 4.8 years). The effects of work during adolescence were conceptualized from two perspectives: work benefits and work consequences. The work benefits perspective suggests that adolescents who work during high school learn social skills, such as time management and responsibility that help them successfully negotiate their transitions into adulthood. Working youth may be less inclined to engage in problem behaviors, such as drugs and alcohol because they value their earned money, they have positive adult influences, and they have fewer opportunities to use substances. The work consequence perspective on adolescent work suggests that working might expose youth to adult-like roles and responsibilities that might place them at risk of increased behaviors such as cigarette, marijuana, and alcohol use. Youth who worked during adolescence self-reported less marijuana use over time than adolescent nonworkers. Working with greater intensity seemed to improve adolescents’ self-acceptance as they transition into young adulthood when compared to their nonworking counterparts. Researchers found variation in self-esteem over time and acknowledged that not all youth experienced an increase in self-esteem. Having a job might help adolescents overcome some of the challenges of a negative neighborhood environment, which in turn enhances their sense of self-worth. Data were collected from 850 adolescents beginning ninth grade in 4 public high schools in a midwestern city. African-Americans constituted 80 percent of the sample in Wave 1 (n = 681). Tables, figures, references