DIMENSIONS OF ADOLESCENT EMPLOYMENT

Work during adolescence, including part-time work during the school;ye ar, has been viewed as vocational behavior with mixed effects on other behaviors and attitudes. Using two different samples (West Point cade ts and high school seniors who qualified for ROTC membership), we exam ined possible positive and negative correlates of adolescent work as a function of work dimensions, and both concurrent and subsequent perfo rmance criteria. Results indicated that concurrent costs and benefits of adolescent employment may depend on dimensions of work as well as a dolescent characteristics. Similarly, adolescent employment was found to be generally related to subsequent work motivation and nonacademic performance.