Understanding the link between adolescent depression and precarious employment in adulthood: evidence from a sibling...

Adolescent depressive symptoms may mark the beginning of long-term trajectories of socioeconomic disadvantage, yet their role in shaping labor market outcomes remains understudied. This study investigates the longitudinal association between depressive symptoms in adolescence and precarious employment in adulthood and explores the mediating roles of persistent depressive symptoms and educational attainment.

Using a sample of 3,703 individuals from full sibling pairs in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, we employed sibling fixed effects models to control for unobserved family-level confounding. Precarious employment in adulthood was measured using a multidimensional index reflecting job instability, material insecurity, lack of benefits, and limited decision-making autonomy.

Adolescent depressive symptoms were positively associated with precarious employment in adulthood (b = 0.0165, p < .01), even after adjusting for family-level confounders. No significant gender differences were observed. Mediation analyses revealed that subsequent depressive symptoms in young adulthood mediated approximately 23.0% of this association, while educational attainment accounted for an additional 18.9%, independent of later depressive symptoms.

These findings highlight adolescent depressive symptoms as a significant early risk factor for employment precarity in adulthood. The results underscore the importance of early mental health interventions and suggest that improving emotional well-being and educational outcomes during adolescence may reduce long-term socioeconomic disadvantage.