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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Recorded presentation

Douglas J. Myers, ScD, School of Public Health, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1603 West Taylor Street, Chicago, IL 60612-4394, 312-355-0122, socialepi@comcast.net and Kimberly J. Rauscher, ScD, University of Massachusetts Lowell, 1 University Ave, Lowell, MA 01854.

Studies of work-related injuries among teenagers have largely been descriptive and often lack an analysis of the role of socioeconomic conditions under which teens live and work. This study of teen workers examined the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and the likelihood of reporting work-related injuries, working with hazardous equipment and working more than twenty hours per week. A survey of high school students in a single metropolitan school was conducted (n = 1430). Cox regression was used to obtain prevalence ratios and control for confounding. Findings support the hypothesis that young workers of high SES, indicated by mothers' education level (highest degree earned), are less likely than their peers of lower status to report having been injured at work (PR = 0.9, 95% CI 0.8, 1.0) and to work with hazardous equipment (PR = 0.9, 95% CI 0.8, 1.0). Results are adjusted for age, sex, race, hours worked per week and duration of employment. In addition, higher SES was associated with a reduction in likelihood of working more than twenty hours per week, a point at which a variety of adverse effects are more likely to occur among teens (adjusted PR = 0.8, 95% CI 0.7, 1.0). Possible explanatory mechanisms for these finding are discussed.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant (learner) in this session will be able to

• Describe the scope and patterns of teen employment
• List three work-related outcomes among teen workers that differ by parents’ socioeconomic status (SES)
• Identify at least two possible mechanisms that link parental SES and work-related health outcomes among teens.

Keywords: Social Inequalities, Youth at Work

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No

Recorded presentation