Objective This study investigated whether (i) young adults’ mental health problems change when starting career work, (ii) potential changes in mental health problems differ by psychosocial work quality, and (iii) mental health problems during adolescence moderate potential changes in mental health by psychosocial work quality.

Methods We used data from the TRracking Adolescents’ Individual Lives Survey (TRAILS) cohort. Follow-up time was 2–4 years. Mental health was measured with the youth and adult self-report scales. Longitudinal fixed-effects regression analyses were applied to estimate within-person changes in mental health of young adults entering career work with good, moderate, or poor psychosocial work quality (N=850) and model adolescent mental health as effect modifier of this change (N=766).

Results When psychosocial job quality of the first career job was ignored, mental health problems did not significantly change among young adults after having entered career work compared with not having career work. Taking psychosocial job quality into account, mental health problems increased among young adults starting career work in poor psychosocial quality compared with not having career work (adjusted mean score increase 0.12, 95% confidence interval 0.03−0.21). No significant changes in mental health problems were found for young adults entering work with moderate-to-good psychosocial work quality. We found no evidence for adolescent mental health problems as moderator.

Conclusion Psychosocial work quality potentially plays a role for young workers’ mental health. Improving poor psychosocial work quality of young adults might contribute to a mentally healthier start of one’s working life.

Key terms career work; longitudinal fixed-effects regression; mental health; psychosocial; psychosocial work quality; transition to work; young adult; young worker

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