Dynamic patterns of time use in adolescence.

Patterns of time use are tangible representations of individual identity and the meaning of age groups in the life course. How do young people allocate their time to multiple domains of involvement, including the school, workplace, family, and peer group? Drawing on longitudinal data from the Youth Development Study (N = 1,010), a person-centered analytic strategy was used to describe configurations of time use through the high school years. Over half of the students were engaged in many domains, although a substantial percentage of students focused their time on one or two domains outside the school. Students who were highly engaged in multiple domains tended to remain so across grade levels, whereas students focused on one or two domains frequently changed their commitments. Plans for school, grade point average, future orientations that emphasize marriage and good citizenship, and gender significantly predicted time-use patterns. These findings elucidate connections among school, work, and other contexts through the high school years.

Linking combat and physical health: the legacy of World War II in men's lives.

OBJECTIVE: This longitudinal study investigated the health effects of experiences during World War II among veterans by examining how well-being changed across the postwar years and varied by prewar individual attributes. METHOD: The subjects were men from the Stanford-Terman data archives who served in World War II and were born before 1925 (N = 328). Of these veterans, 236 were known to have been overseas during the war, and 64 had remained in the United States; 204 of the men who had been sent overseas experienced combat. Life history records were used to construct measures that described physical and emotional health over a range of time points and intervals in the postwar years. RESULTS: Exposure to combat predicted that a subject would experience physical decline or death during the postwar interval from 1945 to 1960, after the effects of self-reported physical health in 1945 and birth cohort were controlled. Rank and theater of engagement, however, were of little consequence, either additively or in interaction with combat. Self-worth before the war did not moderate the risk of physical decline or death that was associated with combat. CONCLUSIONS: Combat in World War II predicted that in the 15 years after the war, a subject would experience physical decline or death. There was no evidence that the effect of combat was more pronounced among men of different ranks, theaters of engagement, or levels of self-worth in 1940.

Adolescent paid labor and relationships with parents: early work-family linkages.

Earnings represent an important mechanism by which changes occur in the adolescent-parent relationship. The present study examines adolescent earnings and multiple dimensions of relationships with parents by drawing on 4 waves of data from the Iowa Youth and Families project. Dynamic models based on the multiple perspectives of adolescent and parent are estimated with hierarchical equations. Between the seventh and tenth grades, rural adolescent earnings and nonleisure spending are related to time spent with the family, less parental monitoring, and more sharing of advice within the family. Earnings and nonleisure spending have positive associations with the affective quality of the adolescent-parent relationship. These results are discussed in terms of the multifaceted dimensions of adolescent work experiences and their implications for the life course.

Trajectories of poverty and children's mental health.

Using data from three waves of the Children of the National Longitudinal Surveys of Youth data set (1986, 1988, 1990), we examine the dynamic relationship between children's family histories of poverty and their developmental trajectories of mental health. Children who were poor in 1986 or who had prior histories of poverty had higher levels of depression and antisocial behavior in that year. Furthermore, subsequent poverty histories were also related to children's mental health trajectories. The number of years that children were poor between 1986 and 1990 correlates significantly with changes in children's antisocial behavior during those years. Finally, rates of increase in antisocial behavior were substantially higher for children with histories of persistent poverty during those years than for transiently poor or nonpoor children. These results demonstrate the accelerating behavioral disadvantages faced by persistently poor children.

The effects of work intensity on adolescent mental health, achievement, and behavioral adjustment: new evidence from a prospective study.

This article examines the effects of work intensity on adolescent mental health, academic achievement, and behavioral adjustment. Questionnaire data were collected yearly from an initial panel of 1,000 randomly selected ninth graders (14-15 years old). Consistent with other studies, students who worked at higher intensity engaged in more alcohol use. The methodological strengths of this research (a representative panel studied prospectively over a 4-year period with minimal attrition and an analysis incorporating key control and lagged variables) provide strong evidence that adolescent work fosters alcohol use. The contention that work of high intensity has deleterious effects on mental health, academic achievement, and 2 other indicators of behavioral adjustment did not withstand our stringent tests. However, high school seniors who worked at moderate intensity (1-20 hours per week) had higher grades than both nonworkers and students who worked more hours per week.

Helpfulness and the development of competence in adolescence.

Using data from a representative panel of 1,000 Minnesota youth, this paper explores "helpfulness" in 2 spheres of adolescents' lives: the home and paid work settings. We examine the social structural conditions under which helpful behaviors are elicited, the interrelations of helpfulness and competence across 2 years of middle adolescence, and whether social circumstances moderate the effects of helpfulness on competence. Both boys' and girls' helpfulness in the home is responsive to family need. Furthermore, helpfulness at work and girls' competence are reciprocally related. We find evidence that the effects of helpfulness depend on the helper's motivations and the act's meaning, as shaped by the social context. Girls' competence is diminished by helpfulness in the home under conditions of poor father-daughter relationships and coercive maternal control.

When war comes to men's lives: life-course patterns in family, work, and health.

Men generally come to military service at a time of youth. However, the Second World War expanded the period of service eligibility from age 18 to the late 30s. Each year of delay in entry promised a smaller return from military service (economic and job benefits) and a greater risk of life disruption and related costs. Using longitudinal data from the Stanford-Terman sample, the authors examine whether social disruptions resulting from late service entry increased the risk of adverse change in adult health. Apart from preservice factors, the authors found that the late-mobilized men were at greatest risk of negative trajectories on physical health. Work-life disadvantages account in part for this health effect. Pathways that link stress and physical decline are discussed in relation to social disruption.