Post on 01-Apr-2015
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Provincial results of the 2013 BC Adolescent Health Survey
From Hastings Street to Haida Gwaii
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2013 BC Adolescent Health Survey
▪ Background
▪ Positive findings and trends
▪ Areas of concern
▪ Protective factors
▪ Using the data
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Administration
2013 BC Adolescent Health Survey
▪ 29,832 surveys were completed
▪ 1,645 classrooms
▪ 56 school districts
▪ 325 PHN’s and nursing students
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Youth in British Columbia
▪ Increasingly diverse backgrounds
▪ Rise in the percentage of recent immigrants
▪ Decrease in the percentage who spoke English at home
▪ Less likely to identify as straight
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Home life
▪ Fewer students living with their parent(s)
▪ 1% currently in a foster home or group home
▪ 9% ran away from home in past year
▪ 1 in 5 moved from one home to another
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Young carers
Their own child or children
Another relative (e.g., disabled relative, younger
sibling)
Pets or animals
2%
16%
48%
2%
23%
55%
Who youth took care of on an average school day
Males Females
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Health conditions and disabilities
▪ Over a quarter of students had at least one health condition or disability
▪ Females were 3 x more likely to report a mental health condition
▪ For many the condition was debilitating
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Working
▪ 29% of students had worked at a paid job during the school year
▪ More likely to have been injured
▪ Links between working and poverty
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Technology
▪ 9 out of 10 students had a cell phone
▪ Students who don’t have a cell phone
▪ Cell phone use was linked to:– More supportive adults
– Parental monitoring
– Unsafe people on the Internet
– Cyberbullying
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Positive Findings and Trends
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Poor Fair Good Excellent
1%
10%
47%42%
2%
14%
56%
28%
Self-reported health status
Males Females
Most youth had seen a dentist in the past year
Decrease in students who missed out on needed medical care
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Decrease in serious injuries
1998 2003 2008 20130%
25%
50% 45%39%
33%30%
34%29%
25% 24%
Injured in the past year
Males Females
Note: The difference for females between 2008 and 2013 was not statistically significant.
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Some improvements in nutrition
▪ More youth ate fruit and vegetables than in 2008
▪ Fewer youth drank pop or energy drinks
▪ 12% ate food grown or caught by their family
▪ Fewer youth went to bed hungry
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More youth ate breakfast
2003 2008 20130%
20%
40%
60%50% 53% 54%
18%15% 13%
Eating breakfast on school days
Always ate breakfast Never ate breakfast
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Risky sexual behaviour decreased
Among those who had ever had sex:
3% ever had an STI
69% used a condom the last time they had sex
5% had ever been pregnant or caused a pregnancy
24% used drugs or alcohol last time they had sex
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Fewer youth tried tobacco
21% had ever tried smoking.
Among those:
▪ Males more likely to smoke than females
▪ Females more likely to smoke cigarettes
▪ Greater percentage of youth were recent smokers
Fewer youth were exposed to second hand smoke
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Fewer youth tried alcohol
45% had ever tried alcohol
Among those:
▪ Youth waited longer to try alcohol
▪ Fewer youth drank in the past month
▪ Fewer youth reported binge drinking
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Fewer youth tried marijuana
26% had ever tried marijuana
Among those:
▪ Youth waited longer to try marijuana
▪ Fewer youth used last Saturday
▪ Fewer youth mixed alcohol and marijuana
▪ Students most commonly got marijuana from a youth outside their family (82%)
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Decreases in substance use
2003 2008 20130%
35%
70%
58%54%
45%
37%
30%26%34%
26%21%
Ever tried different substances
Alcohol Marijuana Tobacco
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Using other substances
2013Change since
2008Prescription pills without a doctor’s consent
11%
Cocaine 3%
Hallucinogens 6%
Mushrooms 5%
Amphetamines 2%
Inhalants 2%
Heroin 1%
Steroids without a doctor’s consent
1%
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Injury prevention improvements
▪ Fewer youth had ever driven after drinking or using marijuana
▪ More youth wore a seatbelt
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Abuse rates decreased
2003 2008 20130%
15%
30%
12%14%
10%
18% 19%
15%
Physical abuse by gender
Males Females
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Less harassment and discrimination
▪ Fewer youth had been verbally or physically sexually harassed
▪ However, 36% had been discriminated against in the past year
▪ Dating violence decreased from 2008
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School safety increased
83%
63% 66%
85%
71%
56%
94%88% 90%
96% 91% 87%
Always or usually felt safe at school
2008 2013
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Cyberbullying decreased
12 years old or
younger
13 14 15 16 17 18 years old
0%
10%
20%
12%
15%
18%
15% 15%
12%11%
Youth who were cyber bullied in the past year
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Areas of Concern
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Concussions
▪ 16% of youth experienced a concussion in past year
▪ Youth who wore helmet less likely to have a concussion
▪ Youth who had experienced a concussion were more likely to miss out on health care because their parents would not take them
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Ratings of mental health
Poor Fair Good Excellent
3%
11%
38%
49%
6%
18%
43%
33%
Males Females
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Suicide
Males
▪ 8% considered suicide
▪ 3% attempted suicide
Females
▪ 17% considered suicide
▪ 9% attempted suicide
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Other mental health concerns
ADHD
Anxiety
Diso
rder
/Pan
ic at
tack
s
Depre
ssion
7%4% 5%4%
13% 13%
Most commonly reported mental health conditions
Males Females
12 years old or young
er
13 14 15 16 17 18 years old
0%
10%
20%
3% 3%4%
5%6%
7%
10%
4%
7%
13%
15%
17% 17% 17%
Extreme stress by age
Males Females
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Foregone mental health care
▪ Male students were less likely to forego needed care but no improvement for females
▪ Most common reason was not wanting parents to know
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Getting enough sleep
12 years old or
younger
13 14 15 16 17 18 years old
0%
30%
60%
49%
35%
26%20%
15% 14% 12%
Slept nine or more hours last night
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Mental health and sleep
4 hours or less
5 6 7 8 9 10 hours or
more
0%
50%
100%
52%62%
71%80%
87% 91% 91%
Go
od
/exce
lle
nt
me
nta
l h
ea
lth
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Increases in some forms of bullying
2003 2008 20130%
25%
50%
30% 28%31%
39%37%
43%
Males and females who were teased at school
in the past yearMales Females
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Perpetrators of bullying
▪ Students who had been bullied were more likely to be perpetrators of bullying
▪ Older youth were more likely to be perpetrators
▪ Females were more likely to be bullied
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Rise in overweight and obesity rates
Males Females
Healthy weight
Underweight
Overweight
Obese
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Exercise participation decreased
▪ 17% of students aged 12-17 met the daily activity recommendations
▪ More older youth (aged 18 or 19) reached their guidelines
▪ Participation in organized sports, informal sports and dance and aerobics decreased from 2008
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Barriers to participation
Most common reasons for not participating in sports or other activities:– Being too busy
– Could not get there or home
– Could not afford to participate
– The activity was not available in their community
– Worried about being bullied
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Transportation challenges
3% of youth had hitchhiked in the past month
Youth who did not feel safe on transit were more likely to hitch
Being reliant on transit was linked to missing out on activities and health care services
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Protective Factors
• School connectedness
• Positive family relationships
• Caring adults outside the family
• Someone to turn to for help
Established Protective Factors
• Peer relationships
• Good nutrition
• Feeling engaged and valued
• Positive future aspirations
• Stable home
Established Protective Factors
• Nine or more hours of sleep
• Neighbourhood safety
• Community connectedness
• Cultural connectedness
Protective Factors - 2013
56 school district data
tables
16 HSDA reports
Growing Up in BC
Sexual health report
Youth resources
Using the Data
www.mcs.bc.ca
Youth are generally making better choices about their health
Mental health and bullying are among the areas where there have been fewer improvements
Promoting protective factors have and can continue to play a key role in improving outcomes for BC youth
www.mcs.bc.ca
annie@mcs.bc.ca duncan@mcs.bc.ca
From Hastings Street to Haida Gwaii