NCJ Number
196042
Journal
Addiction Volume: 97 Issue: 3 Dated: March 2002 Pages: 311-318
Editor(s)
Susan Savva
Date Published
March 2002
Length
8 pages
Annotation
This study examined work intensity and work type in relation to heavy drinking in early adolescence in Finland.
Abstract
Conventionally, it is believed that work is a positive experience for young, school-aged adolescents. However, cause for concern is heightened when some youth’s high investment in work is related to alcohol use. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between part-time work and heavy drinking among adolescents in Finland. The study data were drawn from the 2000 annual School Health Promotion Survey. Specific data were gathered from eighth and ninth graders, age 14 to 16 in a lower-level secondary school who completed a self-administered questionnaire. The results indicated that compared with those that did not work, adolescents who worked more than 10 hours per week during the school year had an increased risk of heavy drinking and a connection between the frequency of heavy drinking and intensive work. In this study, the effects of gender, grade level, parental factors, the degree of urbanization, steady dating, GPA, and disposable allowance were controlled for. These diminished but did not eliminate the significant relationship between working and drinking. Tentative implications suggest that work does not protect school-aged adolescents from heavy drinking. Tables and references