Adolescent Work and Alcohol Use Revisited: Variations by Family Structure

Abstract

Previous research finds adolescent work hours to be associated with increased alcohol use. Most studies, however, fail to account for possible selection effects that lead youth to both work and substance use. Using data from the first two waves of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (N = 12,620), a fixed effects regression method is employed to control for stable between-person differences neglected by previous studies. Results show little relationship between work hours and alcohol use when controlling for individual heterogeneity. Results reveal variations, however, by family structure, with work hours being negatively associated with alcohol use among those from single-parent households. Although exhibiting significant main effects, family and peer processes fail to account for differences by family structure.

Adolescent Work and Alcohol Use: Moderation by Neighborhood Context and the Role of Peers

“…Although there were no significant differences by social class, the effects of moderate and intense work on binge drinking were significantly greater among those from relatively advantaged neighborhoods. That the relationships between work intensity and binge drinking are stronger among those from advantaged backgrounds is consistent with previous studies that have considered family structure as an indicator of disadvantage (Bachman et al 2013;Rocheleau and Swisher 2012).…”

“…Some previous research supports this idea, finding that the positive relationship between adolescent work and delinquency is limited to those from more advantaged backgrounds (Bachman et al 2013;Bauermeister et al 2007;Breslin and Adlaf 2005;Johnson 2004;Rocheleau and Swisher 2012). Focusing on family structure, Rocheleau and Swisher (2012) found that the positive relationship between work and drinking was stronger for adolescents residing in twobiological-parent households, whereas a negative association was observed among youth from singleparent households (see also Bachman et al 2013). With respect to racial and ethnic differences, Johnson (2004) found a positive relationship between work and substance use among white adolescents, but no consistent relationship among minority adolescents.…”

“…Thus, the meaning of adolescent work is likely shaped by one's position within the social structure (Mortimer 2003). Yet few studies have examined how the relationship between adolescent work and substance use varies across subgroups of the population (for exceptions see Bachman et al 2013;Rocheleau and Swisher 2012). Another limitation of previous research is that the extent to which mechanisms explain differences in the relationship between adolescent work and delinquency has not been tested.…”

“…Previous studies have offered speculation. For example, Rocheleau and Swisher (2012) reasoned that work may be less detrimental to youth from single-parent families (in comparison to two-biological-parent families) because these youth are already at-risk for lower parental supervision and more unstructured socializing with potentially deviant peers, as previous research indicates lower levels of social bonds and higher levels of deviant peer association among this group of youth compared to others (Chen and Kaplan 1997;Mack et al 2015). The present study thus seeks to empirically examine this question of "mediated moderation" (Muller et al 2005), motivated by leading theories of crime and delinquency.…”

“…Social control and learning mechanisms may not only explain the work-substance relationship, but also variation in this relationship by social class and neighborhood disadvantage. Considering social control, it could be that work appears to be especially detrimental to those from advantaged backgrounds (Bachman et al 2013;Bauermeister et al 2007;Breslin and Adlaf 2005;Johnson 2004;Rocheleau and Swisher 2012) because it does more damage to the social bonds in work and school domains of advantaged youth relative to disadvantaged youth. With stronger social bonds to family, school, and community (Lareau 2003;Sampson et al 1999;Sampson et al 1997;Vowell and Howell 1998) those from more advantaged backgrounds simply have more to lose by working a lot of hours in adolescence.…”