Adolescent Students Who Work: Gender Differences in School Performances and Self-perceived Health

Abstract

In a prospective cohort study, the hypotheses that adolescent students who work have poorer school performances, more sick days, and poor self-perceived health were examined. From a one-stage random cluster area sampling of 2,512 households in Bahia, Brazil, 888 students 10–21 years of age were asked to answer questionnaires. School dropouts were more common among working students independently of gender. Both full-time (PRadjusted = 2.43; 95% CI: 1.49–3.96) and part-time (PRadjusted = 2.07; 95% CI: 1.28–3.35) working males were more likely to report frequent class skipping. Among females, paid Jobs also were associated with poor self-perceived health, but not after adjustment for age and SES. Brazilian labor legislation for adolescent workers needs to be revised to take into account that jobs can compromise educational achievement.