Employment and the youth mental health crisis in Canada: distinct influences across phases of the school-to-work transition
ObjectivesEmployment-related challenges and uncertainties are thought to contribute to the mental health crisis affecting young adults globally. Yet, few studies have examined how employment characteristics relate to young adults’ mental health. This study addresses this gap, considering how the rol...
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Public Health |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2025.1601463/full |
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| author | Véronique Dupéré Véronique Dupéré Véronique Dupéré Mathieu Caron-Diotte Mathieu Caron-Diotte Nancy Beauregard Nancy Beauregard Clémentine Courdi Clémentine Courdi Jiseul Sophia Ahn Jiseul Sophia Ahn Elizabeth Olivier Elizabeth Olivier Kristel Tardif-Grenier Kristel Tardif-Grenier David Litalien |
| author_facet | Véronique Dupéré Véronique Dupéré Véronique Dupéré Mathieu Caron-Diotte Mathieu Caron-Diotte Nancy Beauregard Nancy Beauregard Clémentine Courdi Clémentine Courdi Jiseul Sophia Ahn Jiseul Sophia Ahn Elizabeth Olivier Elizabeth Olivier Kristel Tardif-Grenier Kristel Tardif-Grenier David Litalien |
| author_sort | Véronique Dupéré |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | ObjectivesEmployment-related challenges and uncertainties are thought to contribute to the mental health crisis affecting young adults globally. Yet, few studies have examined how employment characteristics relate to young adults’ mental health. This study addresses this gap, considering how the role of employment might vary depending on young adults’ educational status and level.MethodsA representative sample of 6,700 young adults (18–30 y.o.) drawn from Statistics Canada’s Longitudinal and International Study of Adults (2012–2020) was used to examine links between working hours and employment in a study-related job and mental health (life satisfaction, global mental health, psychological distress), beyond prior mental health and background characteristics. Interactions with student status were also incorporated.ResultsAmong young adults in tertiary (university, college) education, mental health worsened as working hours increased. For all other participants, the opposite was observed: working more hours was associated with improved mental health. Overall, the best outcomes were observed among tertiary-enrolled students not working, and the worst among youth neither working nor in education. The size of the differences between these groups were non-negligible (with d ranging between 0.37 and 0.47). Across all groups, employment in a study-related job was marginally associated with higher life satisfaction (but not with psychological distress or global mental health).ConclusionWorking hours contribute to young adults’ mental health in contrasting ways, depending on their position on the school-to-work transition continuum. Enhancing young adults’ access to meaningful employment in study-related jobs with an adapted schedule could help mitigate the youth mental health crisis. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-d245ee23cd6640caa69ee5020c2ba721 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2296-2565 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
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| series | Frontiers in Public Health |
| spelling | doaj-art-d245ee23cd6640caa69ee5020c2ba7212025-08-20T03:58:36ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Public Health2296-25652025-07-011310.3389/fpubh.2025.16014631601463Employment and the youth mental health crisis in Canada: distinct influences across phases of the school-to-work transitionVéronique Dupéré0Véronique Dupéré1Véronique Dupéré2Mathieu Caron-Diotte3Mathieu Caron-Diotte4Nancy Beauregard5Nancy Beauregard6Clémentine Courdi7Clémentine Courdi8Jiseul Sophia Ahn9Jiseul Sophia Ahn10Elizabeth Olivier11Elizabeth Olivier12Kristel Tardif-Grenier13Kristel Tardif-Grenier14David Litalien15École de psychoéducation, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, CanadaCentre de recherche en santé publique, Montréal, QC, CanadaInstitut universitaire Jeunes en difficultés, Montréal, QC, CanadaÉcole de psychoéducation, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, CanadaCentre de recherche en santé publique, Montréal, QC, CanadaCentre de recherche en santé publique, Montréal, QC, CanadaÉcole de relations industrielles, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, CanadaÉcole de psychoéducation, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, CanadaCentre de recherche en santé publique, Montréal, QC, CanadaÉcole de psychoéducation, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, CanadaCentre de recherche en santé publique, Montréal, QC, CanadaInstitut universitaire Jeunes en difficultés, Montréal, QC, CanadaDépartement de pédagogie et d’andragogie, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, CanadaInstitut universitaire Jeunes en difficultés, Montréal, QC, CanadaDépartement de psychoéducation et psychologie, Université du Québec en Outaouais, Saint-Jérôme, QC, CanadaÉcole de counseling et d’orientation et Département des fondements et pratiques en éducation, Université Laval, Québec, QC, CanadaObjectivesEmployment-related challenges and uncertainties are thought to contribute to the mental health crisis affecting young adults globally. Yet, few studies have examined how employment characteristics relate to young adults’ mental health. This study addresses this gap, considering how the role of employment might vary depending on young adults’ educational status and level.MethodsA representative sample of 6,700 young adults (18–30 y.o.) drawn from Statistics Canada’s Longitudinal and International Study of Adults (2012–2020) was used to examine links between working hours and employment in a study-related job and mental health (life satisfaction, global mental health, psychological distress), beyond prior mental health and background characteristics. Interactions with student status were also incorporated.ResultsAmong young adults in tertiary (university, college) education, mental health worsened as working hours increased. For all other participants, the opposite was observed: working more hours was associated with improved mental health. Overall, the best outcomes were observed among tertiary-enrolled students not working, and the worst among youth neither working nor in education. The size of the differences between these groups were non-negligible (with d ranging between 0.37 and 0.47). Across all groups, employment in a study-related job was marginally associated with higher life satisfaction (but not with psychological distress or global mental health).ConclusionWorking hours contribute to young adults’ mental health in contrasting ways, depending on their position on the school-to-work transition continuum. Enhancing young adults’ access to meaningful employment in study-related jobs with an adapted schedule could help mitigate the youth mental health crisis.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2025.1601463/fullyoung adultsmental healthemploymentschool-to-work-transitioneducation |
| spellingShingle | Véronique Dupéré Véronique Dupéré Véronique Dupéré Mathieu Caron-Diotte Mathieu Caron-Diotte Nancy Beauregard Nancy Beauregard Clémentine Courdi Clémentine Courdi Jiseul Sophia Ahn Jiseul Sophia Ahn Elizabeth Olivier Elizabeth Olivier Kristel Tardif-Grenier Kristel Tardif-Grenier David Litalien Employment and the youth mental health crisis in Canada: distinct influences across phases of the school-to-work transition Frontiers in Public Health young adults mental health employment school-to-work-transition education |
| title | Employment and the youth mental health crisis in Canada: distinct influences across phases of the school-to-work transition |
| title_full | Employment and the youth mental health crisis in Canada: distinct influences across phases of the school-to-work transition |
| title_fullStr | Employment and the youth mental health crisis in Canada: distinct influences across phases of the school-to-work transition |
| title_full_unstemmed | Employment and the youth mental health crisis in Canada: distinct influences across phases of the school-to-work transition |
| title_short | Employment and the youth mental health crisis in Canada: distinct influences across phases of the school-to-work transition |
| title_sort | employment and the youth mental health crisis in canada distinct influences across phases of the school to work transition |
| topic | young adults mental health employment school-to-work-transition education |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2025.1601463/full |
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