NCJ Number
173332
Journal
Criminal Justice Policy Review Volume: 8 Issue: 2-3 Dated: 1997 Pages: 119-143
Date Published
1997
Length
25 pages
Annotation
To assess the claim that employment is beneficial to the development of adolescents, this study explored the relationship of working to delinquency among a sample of youths drawn from the National Youth Survey.
Abstract
Data came from the fourth (1979) and fifth (1980) waves of the National Youth Survey, a longitudinal national probability sample of 1,725 youths aged 11-17 in 1976. The fourth and fifth waves were used because for most adolescents they constitute the time in which they are in high school and are beginning their experience with paid work; moreover, these waves contained measures central to the study's theoretical argument. The work measures were job stability, hourly wages, job changes, and work intensity (number of paid hours worked per week). Family measures were life stress, family cohesion, and parental disapproval. Other variables measured were school achievement and commitment, the number of delinquent friends, and delinquency, which was measured with a 20-item delinquency scale. The analysis showed that work conditions, especially the number of hours worked, were positively associated with delinquent involvement. The authors argue that these results are consistent with a critical criminological perspective that views juvenile employment within its structural context, being sensitive to how the needs of youths are not served in the prevailing labor market. Accordingly, the study cautions against a policy agenda that views employment as a panacea for preventing delinquency. 1 table and a 72-item bibliography