The sexual health of a teenager can be can be affected by working too many hours in an adult environment, according to new research. While having part-time employment has an overall positive effect, the study suggested that being overworked in an adult atmosphere could lead to teenagers having older sex partners.

One of the authors of the report, Jose Bauermeister, an assistant research professor at the University of Michigan, suggested a lack of supervision was what led to the exposure to adults, which could often lead to sexual activity.  He said: "It's OK to let kids work. We want to make sure they are spending time in an environment where it's safe to work."

Dr Bauermeister, co-investigator of the Flint Adolescent Study project, highlighted self esteem and use of alcohol as two pivotal factors in determining the age of teenagers' sexual partners, but said that working hours were also important. He commented that the negative effects of working too many hours could be neutralised by having high self esteem and low use of alcohol.