Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Quality of life among working and non-working adolescents

  • Published:
Quality of Life Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

This study investigated the association between work, work intensity, and quality of life (QOL) among adolescents in Washington State.

Methods

Data from the 2010 Washington Healthy Youth Survey of public school students in 8, 10, and 12th grades were analyzed. Students were categorized as working or not working. Work intensity was classified by self-reported number of hours worked per week. Respondent QOL was measured using the Youth Quality of Life Instrument-Healthy Youth Survey Version (YQOL-HYS). Linear regression models evaluated the association between employment variables and scores on the YQOL-HYS.

Results

In total, 27, 26, and 47 % of students in grades 8, 10, and 12 reported currently working, respectively. For 8th and 10th graders, working was significantly associated with lower QOL scores compared to non-working students. Across all grades, increased work intensity was associated with significantly lower QOL. Participation in after-school activities demonstrated a protective effect.

Conclusions

While work is often a positive experience for adolescents, among younger teens and those who work many hours, employment during the school year may have a deleterious impact on QOL. Further research is necessary to better understand whether employment, particularly in early adolescence, may have negative ramifications on QOL among young workers.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

Abbreviations

CI:

Confidence interval

QOL:

Quality of life

References

  1. Miller, M. E., Handelman, E. E., & Lewis, C. E. (2007). Protecting young workers: Coordinated strategies help to raise safety awareness. Professional Safety, 52, 38–45.

    Google Scholar 

  2. Mortimer, J. T. (2003). Working and growing up in America. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  3. Ruhm, C. J. (1995). The extent and consequences of high school employment. Journal of Labor Research, 16(3), 293–303. doi:10.1007/bf02685757.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Safron, D. J., Schulenberg, J. E., & Bachman, J. G. (2001). Part-time work and hurried adolescence: The links among work intensity, social activities, health behaviors, and substance use. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 42(4), 425–449. doi:10.2307/3090188.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Teixeira, L. R., Fischer, F. M., Nagai, R., & Turte, S. L. (2004). Teen at work: The burden of a double shift on daily activities. Chronobiology International, 21(6), 845–858. doi:10.1081/cbi-200036878.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Melman, S., Little, S. G., & Akin-Little, K. A. (2007). Adolescent overscheduling: The relationship between levels of participation in scheduled activities and self-reported clinical symptomology. The High School Journal, 90(3), 18–30. doi:10.1353/hsj.2007.0011.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Osilla, K. C., Hunter, S. B., Ewing, B. A., Ramchand, R., Miles, J. N., & D’Amico, E. J. (2013). The effects of employment among adolescents at-risk for future substance use. Addictive Behaviors, 38(3), 1616–1619. doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2012.09.012.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Staff, J., Schulenberg, J. E., & Bachman, J. G. (2010). Adolescent work intensity, school performance, and academic engagement. Sociology of Education, 83(3), 183–200. doi:10.1177/0038040710374585.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  9. Staff, J., VanEseltine, M., Woolnough, A., Silver, E., & Burrington, L. (2012). Adolescent work experiences and family formation behavior. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 22(1), 150–164. doi:10.1111/j.1532-7795.2011.00755.x.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Warren, J. R., & Lee, J. C. (2003). The impact of adolescent employment on high school dropout: Differences by individual and labor-market characteristics. Social Science Research, 32(1), 98–128. doi:10.1016/s0049-089x(02)00021-2.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Barling, J., Rogers, K. A., & Kelloway, E. K. (1995). Some effects of teenagers’ part-time employment: The quantity and quality of work make the difference. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 16(2), 143–154. doi:10.1002/job.4030160205.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Shanahan, M. J., Finch, M., Mortimer, J. T., & Ryu, S. (1991). Adolescent work experience and depressive affect. Social Psychology Quarterly,. doi:10.2307/2786843.

    Google Scholar 

  13. Mortimer, J. T., Finch, M., Shanahan, M., & Ryu, S. (1992). Work experience, mental health, and behavioral adjustment in adolescence. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 2(1), 25–57. doi:10.1207/s15327795jra0201_2.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Mortimer, J. T., Finch, M. D., Ryu, S., Shanahan, M. J., & Call, K. T. (1996). The effects of work intensity on adolescent mental health, achievement, and behavioral adjustment: New evidence from a prospective study. Child Development, 67(3), 1243–1261. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.1996.tb01793.x.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2010). Occupational injuries and deaths among younger workers: United States, 1998–2007. MMWR Morbitity and Mortality Weekly Report, 59(15), 449–455.

    Google Scholar 

  16. WHOQOL group. (1995). The World Health Organization quality of life assessment (WHOQOL): Position paper from the World Health Organization. Social Science and Medicine, 41(10), 1403–1409. doi:10.1016/0277-9536(95)00112-k.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Richardson, R., Pilkey, D., & Bensley, L. (2013). Washington state healthy youth survey, 2010 data analysis and technical assistance manual. Tumwater, WA: Washington State Department of Health.

    Google Scholar 

  18. Washington State Department of Health, Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction Department of Social and Health Services Department of Commerce, Family Policy Council, and Liquor Control Board (2011). Healthy youth survey 2010 analytic report. Tumwater, WA: Washington State Department of Health.

  19. Topolski, T. D., Edwards, T. C., & Patrick, D. L. (2002). User’s manual and interpretation guide for the youth quality of Life (YQOL) instruments. Seattle, WA: University of Washington, Department of Health Services.

    Google Scholar 

  20. Patrick, D. L., Bell, J. F., Huang, J. Y., Lazarakis, N. C., & Edwards, T. C. (2013). Bullying and quality of life in youths perceived as gay, lesbian, or bisexual in Washington State, 2010. American Journal of Public Health, 103(7), 1255–1261. doi:10.2105/ajph.2012.301101.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  21. Topolski, T. D., Patrick, D. L., Edwards, T. C., Huebner, C. E., Connell, F. A., & Mount, K. K. (2001). Quality of life and health-risk behaviors among adolescents. Journal of Adolescent Health, 29(6), 426–435. doi:10.1016/s1054-139x(01)00305-6.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. Patrick, D. L., Edwards, T. C., & Topolski, T. D. (2002). Adolescent quality of life, part II: Initial validation of a new instrument. Journal of Adolescence, 25(3), 287–300.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. StataCorp. (2015). Stata multiple-imputation reference manual: Release 14. College Station, TX: Stata Press.

    Google Scholar 

  24. Casey, B., Jones, R. M., & Hare, T. A. (2008). The adolescent brain. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1124(1), 111–126. doi:10.1196/annals.1440.010.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  25. Blakemore, S. J., & Choudhury, S. (2006). Development of the adolescent brain: Implications for executive function and social cognition. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 47(3–4), 296–312. doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199570706.013.0025.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  26. Spear, L. P. (2013). Adolescent neurodevelopment. Journal of Adolescent Health, 52(2), S7–S13.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  27. Ernst, M., Nelson, E. E., Jazbec, S., McClure, E. B., Monk, C. S., Leibenluft, E., et al. (2005). Amygdala and nucleus accumbens in responses to receipt and omission of gains in adults and adolescents. Neuroimage, 25(4), 1279–1291.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  28. Smaldone, A., Honig, J. C., & Byrne, M. W. (2007). Sleepless in America: Inadequate sleep and relationships to health and well-being of our nation’s children. Pediatrics, 119(Supplement 1), S29–S37.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  29. Wolfson, A. R., & Carskadon, M. A. (1998). Sleep schedules and daytime functioning in adolescents. Child Development,. doi:10.2307/1132351.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  30. Eccles, J. S., & Barber, B. L. (1999). Student council, volunteering, basketball, or marching band what kind of extracurricular involvement matters? Journal of Adolescent Research, 14(1), 10–43. doi:10.1177/0743558499141003.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. Zaff, J. F., Moore, K. A., Papillo, A. R., & Williams, S. (2003). Implications of extracurricular activity participation during adolescence on positive outcomes. Journal of Adolescent Research, 18(6), 599–630. doi:10.1177/0743558403254779.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. Bachman, J. G., Staff, J., O’Malley, P. M., & Freedman-Doan, P. (2013). Adolescent work intensity, school performance, and substance use: Links vary by race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status. Developmental Psychology, 49(11), 2125. doi:10.1037/a0031464.supp.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  33. Rauscher, K. J., Wegman, D. H., Wooding, J., Davis, L., & Junkin, R. (2013). Adolescent work quality: A view from today’s youth. Journal of Adolescent Research, 28(5), 557–590. doi:10.1177/0743558412467676.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  34. Mortimer, J. T. (2010). The benefits and risks of adolescent employment. The Prevention Researcher, 17(2), 8. doi:10.1037/e540552010-004.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  35. Staff, J., Osgood, D. W., Schulenberg, J. E., Bachman, J. G., & Messersmith, E. E. (2010). Explaining the relationship between employment and juvenile delinquency. Criminology, 48(4), 1101–1131.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  36. Runyan, C. W., Bowling, J. M., Schulman, M., & Gallagher, S. S. (2005). Potential for violence against teenage retail workers in the United States. Journal of Adolescent Health, 36(3), 267. e261–267. e265, doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2004.07.006.

  37. Smith, C. R., Gillespie, G. L., & Beery, T. A. (2015). Adolescent workers’ experiences of and training for workplace violence. Workplace Health and Safety, 63(7), 297–307. doi:10.1177/2165079915580786.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  38. Runyan, C. W., Schulman, M., Dal Santo, J., Bowling, J. M., Agans, R., & Ta, M. (2007). Work-related hazards and workplace safety of US adolescents employed in the retail and service sectors. Pediatrics, 119(3), 526–534. doi:10.1542/peds.2006-2009.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  39. O’Connor, T., Loomis, D., Runyan, C., dal Santo, J. A., & Schulman, M. (2005). Adequacy of health and safety training among young Latino construction workers. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 47(3), 272–277. doi:10.1097/01.jom.0000150204.12937.f5.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  40. Hansen, D. M., & Jarvis, P. A. (2000). Adolescent employment and psychosocial outcomes a comparison of two employment contexts. Youth and Society, 31(4), 417–436. doi:10.1177/0044118x00031004002.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  41. Zimmer-Gembeck, M. J., & Mortimer, J. T. (2006). Adolescent work, vocational development, and education. Review of Educational Research, 76(4), 537–566.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  42. Mortimer, J. T., Harley, C., & Staff, J. (2002). The quality of work and youth mental health. Work and Occupations, 29(2), 166–197. doi:10.1177/0730888402029002003.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Nursing-Spokane, Washington State University, P.O. Box 1495, Spokane, WA, 99210, USA

    Janessa M. Graves, Celestina Barbosa-Leiker & Angel Y. Li

  2. Department of Psychology, Seattle University, 901 12th Avenue, Seattle, WA, 98122, USA

    Jessica L. Mackelprang

  3. Nurse Consultant, 4908 S. Ferdinand St., Seattle, WA, 98118, USA

    Mary E. Miller

Authors
  1. Janessa M. Graves
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Jessica L. Mackelprang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Celestina Barbosa-Leiker
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Mary E. Miller
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Angel Y. Li
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Janessa M. Graves.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

This article does not contain any studies with human participants performed by any of the authors.

Informed consent

The Washington State Institutional Review Board deemed this study exempt from human subjects review.

Electronic supplementary material

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Graves, J.M., Mackelprang, J.L., Barbosa-Leiker, C. et al. Quality of life among working and non-working adolescents. Qual Life Res 26, 107–120 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-016-1376-5

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-016-1376-5

Keywords

Search

Navigation