Working part-time during high school may be unavoidable for many teenagers who need to save money for college or contribute to their family’s household expenses. But a new study by a UW researcher shows that working during the school year can impede high school performance and cause behavior problems, such as drug use and delinquency.
“Especially in a recessed economy, many adolescents may feel pressure to work during high school,” said Kathryn Monahan, PhD, a UW researcher in the Social Developmental Research Group. “This study suggests that working during the school year is perfectly fine, so long as the work hours for adolescents are restricted to fewer than 20 hours per week.”
The findings are published in the January/February 2011 issue of the journal Child Development.
Source: Molly McElroy in UW News & Information, Feb. 10, 2011.
