Quality of life among working and non-working adolescents

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 wo...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Quality of life research 2017-01, Vol.26 (1), p.107-120
Main Authors: Graves, Janessa M., Mackelprang, Jessica L., Barbosa-Leiker, Celestina, Miller, Mary E., Li, Angel Y.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Academic achievement
Adolescent
Adult
Behavior
Child development
CLINICAL AND POLICY APPLICATIONS
Cross-Sectional Studies
Employment
Extracurricular activities
Female
Humans
Injuries
Male
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Participation
Psychometrics - instrumentation
Psychometrics - methods
Public Health
Quality of life
Quality of Life - psychology
Quality of Life Research
School dropouts
Schools
Self report
Sociology
Students
Students - psychology
Teenagers
Variables
Young Adult
Younger workers
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Summary: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.
ISSN:0962-9343
1573-2649
DOI:10.1007/s11136-016-1376-5