[The relationship between casual paid work, the use of psychoactive substances and school problems among upper...

The issue of casual work is rarely mentioned in Poland in the studies of adolescent health and its determinants. The article includes a preliminary analysis of the links among work, psychoactive substance abuse and school problems in older adolescents.

The examined data relate to the age-homogenous group of 989 upper secondary-school students surveyed in 2011.The questions were derived from the Polish version of the CHIP-AE (Child Health and Illness Profile - Adolescent Edition) questionnaire. Cigarette smoking, mild and strong alcoholic drinks consumption and marihuana use were analysed with regard to the preceding month. A combined index - a scale of psychoactive substance use (SUSP) was calculated from the perspective of the entire life. The other index - a scale of the intensity of school problems (SNPS) was built around four questions about the occurrence of such problems within the preceding month.

Within the examined group, 27.2% of the surveyed admitted to working outside their household. One in five worked for more than 10 hours a week. Working adolescents significantly more often used psychoactive substances than their non-working peers. The risk of a significant threat from psychoactive substances rose twofold in the comparison of working and non-working youth - OR=1.99 [95% CI(OR): 1,44-2,74]. Correspondingly, there was an increase in the risk of intensified school problems (SNPS) - OR=2.25 [95% CI(OR): 1,64-3,08].Working more than 10 hours a week results both risk factors rising to 2.34 and 2.70 respectively. Over threefold rise in the frequency of neglecting work or its bad performance was identified (OR=3.19; [95% CI(OR): 1,90-5,36]), when comparing the adolescents with the smallest and the biggest intensity of school. problems in the working group.

Upper secondary school students undertaking paid work outside their household are in the risk group for psychoactive substance use and school problems. It is advisable to conduct deeper research on the motives for undertaking work and its impact on the development of adolescents, including longitudinal studies and qualitative research.