Youth employment, crime, and schooling: A longitudinal study of a national sample.

Examined the effect of employment on delinquent behavior in over 2,000 6th–12th grade students who were surveyed on their work experiences and the extent of their involvement during the last year in drug use and other delinquent activities. Regression analysis was used to examine the effect of working while attending secondary school on 1982 self-reported delinquency. Evidence from this study implies that teenage working does not increase delinquency and does not have a detrimental effect on commitment to education, involvement in extracurricular activities, time spent on homework, attachment to school, or attachment to parents. The models examined suggest that working decreases school attendance and dependence on parents for some subgroups, but these effects are not translated into increases in delinquency. (39 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)