School-year employment among high school students: effects on academic, social, and physical functioning
Nancy F Weller1, Steven H Kelder, Sharon P Cooper
1Department of Family and Community Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, 3701 Kirby, Suite 600, Houston, Texas 77096, USA. nweller@bcm.tmc.edu
Abstract:
This study describes the effects of different weekly work intensity levels on adolescent functioning in a sample of 3,083 high school students in rural South Texas, where economically disadvantaged and Hispanic youth are heavily represented. Anonymous surveys were conducted in 10th- and 12th-grade students' classrooms in 1995. The following effects were associated with long hours of weekly employment during the school year: (1) decreased performance/engagement in school and satisfaction with amount of leisure time, and (2) increased health risk behaviors and psychological stress. The effects of school-year work on academic factors and health behaviors differed by grade, but not by race/ethnicity, parent education, or race/ethnicity and parent education considered together. It was concluded that parents and professionals should continue to monitor the number of weekly hours that students work during the school year.
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