Page 31 - IJPS-11-4

International Journal of

Population Studies

RESEARCH ARTICLE
Impact of stress during adolescence on general
and work-related stress in early adulthood:

A prospective cohort study

Trine Nøhr Winding * , Mette Lykke Nielsen , and Regine Grytnes 1
2
1
1 Department of Occupational Medicine, University Research Clinic, Danish Ramazzini Center,
Goedstrup Hospital, Herning, Denmark
2 Department of Culture and Learning, Center for Youth Research, Aalborg University, Copenhagen,
Denmark

Abstract

High-stress levels during youth can negatively impact an individual’s long-term
physical and psychological health and overall well-being, potentially extending into
adulthood and affecting their work life. Further investigation is required to deepen
our understanding of how the stress experienced during adolescence correlates
with stress in early adult work life. Furthermore, exploring how factors within the
psychosocial work environment and temporary employment contribute to stressful
experiences is crucial. This study followed a cohort of 1275 Danish working adults born
*Corresponding author: in 1989, tracking them from age 15 – 28. Participants reported perceived stress levels
Trine Nøhr Winding at ages 15, 18, and 21, and the outcomes included perceived stress and work-related
(trwind@rm.dk) stress at age 28. Additional information on the psychosocial work environment and
Citation: Winding, T.N., Nielsen, temporary employment was collected at age 28. The study consistently identified
M.L., & Grytnes, R. (2025). Impact associations between perceived stress during adolescence and perceived stress
of stress during adolescence on
general and work-related stress or work-related stress in adulthood. The psychosocial work environment variables
in early adulthood: A prospective significantly contributed to work-related stress and partially explained general
cohort study. International Journal perceived stress, particularly among those with more work experience. Occupational
of Population Studies, 11(4): 25-40.
https://doi.org/10.36922/ijps.0864 health professionals should be aware that stress during adolescence can result in
stress in future work life. It is important to understand that perceived stress and
Received: April 26, 2023
work-related stress are distinct facets, requiring different prevention approaches.
Revised: October 11, 2023
Accepted: April 12, 2024 Keywords: Adolescents; Perceived stress; Work stress
Published online: August 6, 2024
Copyright: © 2024 Author(s).
This is an Open-Access article
distributed under the terms of the 1. Introduction
Creative Commons Attribution
License, permitting distribution, 1.1. Stress in youth
and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is The prevalence of mental health challenges, such as stress, anxiety, and depression,
properly cited. among young individuals is on the rise both in Denmark (Jeppesen et al., 2020) and
Publisher’s Note: AccScience internationally (Johnson et al., 2018; Kaasbøll et al., 2021; the World Health Organization
Publishing remains neutral with [WHO], 2020). The mental health issues often begin during their school years and can
regard to jurisdictional claims in persist into their work lives. The explanations behind the increase in psychological
published maps and institutional
affiliations. problems, including stress, in young individuals are multifaceted. A clear social gradient

Volume 11 Issue 4 (2025) 25 https://doi.org/10.36922/ijps.0864