Association between employment and substance abuse behaviors among public high school adolescents

Purpose: To examine the relationship between adolescents' after-school and weekend employment and substance abuse behaviors in a cross-sectional sampl e of public high school students in South Carolina. Methods: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) was used to secure usable data from 4800 subjects. Logistic regression adjusting for age and using SUDAAN were performed. Odds ratios a nd 95% confidence intervals were calculated from the regression analyses. Results: Thirty percent of white males, 29% of white females, and 20% of bl ack males and females worked at a job for pay during the academic year. For white males employment, ranging from 11 to 15 h and 26 to greater than or equal to 31 h was associated with cigarette smoking, working from 11 to gre ater than or equal to 31 h was associated with alcohol use, working greater than or equal to 31 h was associated with binge drinking, working from 26 to greater than or equal to 31 h was associated with marijuana use, and wor king from 26 to 30 h was associated with cocaine use. For white females, wo rking from 16 to 20 h was associated with alcohol use, working from 21 to 3 0 h was associated with binge drinking, and working from 26 to 30 h was ass ociated with marijuana and cocaine use. Conclusion: Youth who work above 15 h/week at a job for pay during high sch ool appear to have an increased risk for substance abuse and its consequenc es. (C) Society for Adolescent Medicine, 1999.