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The long arm of the life course: Adolescent experiences and the evaluation of job security in early adulthood ^☆
Research in the Sociology of Work, 2014 volume, Adolescent Experience and Adult Labor Outcomes: Connections and Causes, edited by Henrich R. Greve and Marc-David L. Seidel

Adolescent Experiences and Adult Work Outcomes: Connections and Causes

ISBN: 978-1-78350-571-5, eISBN: 978-1-78350-572-2

Publication date: 12 April 2014

Abstract

Purpose

Young adults are living and working in uncertain economic climates and increasingly exposed to precarious work. Are preferences for job security and actual job stability a result of proximal conditions, or do experiences in adolescence also play a role? The adolescent’s environment and experiences may help explain differences in preferences with regards to stable work, as well as work outcomes in early adulthood.

Design/methodology/approach

In this chapter, I use data from the Youth Development Study (YDS) to test three facets of the adolescent experience between ages 14 and 18 – parental work and educational characteristics, adolescents’ academic achievement, and youth employment – as factors shaping (1) respondents’ preferences for stable employment, (2) respondents’ perceived job insecurity, and (3) respondents’ likelihood of being in nonstandard work in early adulthood, age 31–32, approximately 15 years later.

Findings

Adolescent experiences and environments are related to young adults’ preferences for stable employment, likelihood of being in nonstandard work, and likelihood of reporting job insecurity in early adulthood, suggesting the significance of early life experiences as well as the importance of intergenerational transmission processes for the early adult years.

Originality/value

This study points to the important role of adolescent experiences in initiating a trajectory of work preferences and attainment.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

Acknowledgment

The Youth Development Study is supported by Grant Number R01HD044138 from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development. The content is solely the responsibility of the author and does not necessarily represent the official views of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development or the National Institutes of Health. The author would also like to thank Jeylan Mortimer for her thoughtful comments on previous versions of this chapter.

Citation

Lam, J. (2014), "The long arm of the life course: Adolescent experiences and the evaluation of job security in early adulthood ^☆

Research in the Sociology of Work, 2014 volume, Adolescent Experience and Adult Labor Outcomes: Connections and Causes, edited by Henrich R. Greve and Marc-David L. Seidel

", Adolescent Experiences and Adult Work Outcomes: Connections and Causes (Research in the Sociology of Work, Vol. 25), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 127-155. https://doi.org/10.1108/S0277-283320140000025005

Publisher

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Emerald Group Publishing Limited