Employment and drinking in early adulthood: a longitudinal perspective.

The relationship between drinking and employment was examined in a large, national representative longitudinal sample of young adults in Britain. Teenage drinking did not emerge as a strong influence upon subsequent employment experience: few associations were significant for either sex. However, early employment experiences did appear to be relevant to drinking in young adults, since unemployment of six months or more in total was significantly associated with heavier drinking in men (odds ratio = 1.38, CI 1.14-1.64). Respondents ratings of overall job satisfaction were not generally associated with either previous drinking or with that in early adulthood.