Alcohol and employment in the transition to adulthood

We elaborate the relationship between work hours and alcohol use during the transition from adolescence to adulthood. Both hours of employment and dri nking may be products of weak bonds to school and family. Alternatively, wo rk may exert an independent effect on alcohol use by exposing adolescents t o opportunities and associates that facilitate drinking Using longitudinal data from the Youth Development Study, (YDS), we present static score regre ssion models showing that long work hours increase levels of drinking durin g high school. These effects are mediated in large part by work-derived ind ependence from parents, suggesting that a precocious transition to adult ro les may, be the mechanism connecting work hours and alcohol nse. Work effec ts on drinking are short-lived, however as adolescent hours of employment d o not significantly influence alcohol use after high school.