Adult Work Roles Research Articles

Prevalence and impact of substance use among emerging adults with serious mental health conditions.

This critical review of the literature integrates findings across varied literatures and identifies areas for continued study on the prevalence, correlates, and impact of substance use (alcohol and illicit drugs) on social role functioning among emerging adults with serious mental health conditions. This population is of interest because of high comorbidity rates between substance use and serious mental health conditions and the added difficulties posed by their co-occurrence during the transition to adulthood. This critical review presents the epidemiology of substance use in emerging adults with serious mental health conditions compared to emerging adults without these conditions, as well as what is known about predictors and consequences of substance use in this population. PsychINFO and PubMed along with relevant published literature. This review summarizes what is known about the impact of these co-occurring problems on the transition of emerging adults from school and training environments to adult work roles. Though this group presents with unique challenges, few programs have been developed to address their specific needs. This paper synthesizes what is known empirically about approaches with this population, discussing those that might be useful for emerging adults with comorbid serious mental health conditions and substance use problems, particularly in supporting their educational and vocational development. Emerging adults with co-occurring serious mental health conditions and substance use problems are underserved by current mental health systems. Recommendations focus on how to promote mental health and social role functioning through comprehensive intervention programs that provide continuity of care through the transition to adulthood.

‘We just make the pictures…?’ How work is portrayed in children’s feature length films

This article explores how adult paid work is portrayed in ‘family’ feature length films. The study extends previous critical media literature which has overwhelmingly focused on depictions of gender and violence, exploring the visual content of films that is relevant to adult employment. Forty‐two G/PG films were analyzed for relevant themes. Consistent with the exploratory nature of the research, themes emerged inductively from the films’ content. Results reveal six major themes: males are more visible in adult work roles than women; the division of labour remains gendered; work and home are not mutually exclusive domains; organizational authority and power is wielded in punitive ways; there are avenues to better employment prospects; and status/money is paramount. The findings of the study reflect a range of subject matters related to occupational characteristics and work‐related communication and interactions which are typically viewed by children in contemporary society.

The Fruits of Good Work: Early Work Experiences and Adolescent Deviance

Some theories of crime suggest that “adultlike” work conditions diminish adolescent delinquency, whereas others suggest that precocious entry into adult work roles increases youth problem behaviors. The authors consider the relationship between delinquency and several dimensions of adolescent employment, including learning opportunities, freedom and autonomy, social status, demands and stress, wages, and compatibility between work and school. They find the lowest rates of 12th-grade school deviance, alcohol use, and arrest among adolescents whose jobs supported rather than displaced academic roles and provided opportunities for them to learn new things. In contrast, many qualities of work considered desirable for adults (autonomy, social status, and wages) appear to increase delinquency in adolescence. The authors conclude that work conditions have age-graded effects on delinquency that are contingent on the life course stage of the worker.

Young Adult Occupational Identity and Well-Being: Influences of Postsecondary Education and Work

This paper investigates the relationship between young adults' postsecondary school and work experiences and their occupational identity and sense of well-being. Using data from the Sloan Study of Youth and Social Development and a follow-up study of Sloan participants two years after high school graduation, the analysis contrasts the experiences of college students who work with those of young adults who are employed and not enrolled in college. We found that adult occupational identity had no significant effect on our measures of psychological well-being. Work experiences had positive effects on well-being for all young adults in our sample, though for college students educational experiences appear to have a greater influence on well-being than work experiences. Young adults who were not enrolled in college were more likely to have diffuse occupational identities and more likely to be employed in low-skill jobs such as fast food service or retail sales. These findings suggest that the stratification of work among more- and less-educated workers may be evident early on in the transition to adult work roles.

Defiance and Despair: Subcultural and Structural Linkages between Delinquency and Despair in the Life Course

Although anomie or strain theories of delinquency assert that adolescent distress leads to delinquent rebellion, delinquents do not report being more distressed than other youth. P. Willis further observes that rebellious youth who take part in a counterschool subculture tend to move relatively easily if not happily away from school and into early adult work roles that only become problematic later. The delinquent subculture temporarily insulates participants from sources of distress they might otherwise feel. However, this oppositional disposition also provokes educational and employment problems that intervene and interact with the residue of this subculture to ultimately produce distress. This lagged or sleeper effect of adolescent rebellion does not emerge until early midlife. Their panel research finds that adolescent rebellion in the form of subcultural delinquency leads to educational and employment problems and ultimately to feelings of hopelessness among adults who have dropped out of school and become unemployed. The origins of these effects are both cultural and structural

Defiance and Despair: Subcultural and Structural Linkages between Delinquency and Despair in the Life Course

Although anomie or strain theories of delinquency assert that adolescent distress leads to delinquent rebellion, delinquents do not report being more distressed than other youth. Willis (1977) further observes that rebellious youth who take part in a counterschool subculture tend to move relatively easily if not happily away from school and into early adult work roles that only become problematic later. The delinquent subculture temporarily insulates participants from sources of distress they might otherwise feel. However, this oppositional disposition also provokes educational and employment problems that intervene and interact with the residue of this subculture to ultimately produce distress. This lagged or “sleeper” effect of adolescent rebellion does not emerge until early midlife. Our panel research finds that adolescent rebellion in the form of subcultural delinquency leads to educational and employment problems and ultimately to feelings of hopelessness among adults who have dropped out of school and become unemployed. The origins of these effects are both cultural and structural.

Vocational Decision Making Among Women: Implications for Organizational Behavior

This paper synthesizes the literature on vocational decision making among women. Anticipatory socialization to adult work roles results in the development of a vocational self-concept, which includes personality, interests, values, perceived capacities, perceived opportunities, and perceived costs. Preferences based on this self-concept guide the job-search process. Expectancy theory is proposed to integrate the findings in the literature, and implications for research are discussed.

Schooling and Work: Social Constraints on Equal Educational Opportunity

In order effectively to socialize children to competence in the adult roles available to them, schools must produce a highly differentiated pool of graduates to fill the requirements of hierarchically stratified work roles in the United States. In this paper we compare how two public elementary schools in an upper-middle class and a lower-middle class neighborhood socialize children along the dimensions of cognitive competence, self-image, and relationship to authority. Our findings suggest that schools differentially socialize children to respond to authority so as to be competent in adult work roles similar to those currently held by their parents.