Do Jobs Work? Risk and Protective Behaviors Associated with Employment among Disadvantaged Female Teens in Urban Atlanta

Janet Rosenbaum, Jonathan Zenilman, Eve Rose, Gina Wingood, Ralph DiClemente

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Adolescent employment research has focused on middle-class rather than disadvantaged adolescents. We identified risks and benefits of adolescent employment in a 12-month study of 715 low-socioeconomic-status female African American adolescents using nearest-neighbor Mahalanobis matching on baseline factors including substance use and socioeconomic status. Employed adolescents were more likely to graduate high school and less likely to depend on boyfriends for spending money, but they were more likely to use marijuana, alcohol, and have sex while high or drunk. Employment may help female adolescents avoid potentially coercive romantic relationships, but increase access to drugs or alcohol.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)155-173
Number of pages19
JournalJournal of Women, Politics and Policy
Volume35
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Apr 2014

Keywords

  • adolescent employment
  • adolescents
  • coercion in relationships
  • romantic relationships
  • substance use

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Gender Studies
  • Sociology and Political Science

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Do Jobs Work? Risk and Protective Behaviors Associated with Employment among Disadvantaged Female Teens in Urban Atlanta'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this