Canadian Adolescents' Mental Health and Substance Use During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Associations With COVID-19 Stressors

There have been significant concerns regarding the mental health impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) due to isolation, anxiety around the pandemic, and increased conflict in the home. The purpose of this study was to examine the rates of mental health symptoms of clinical concern and substance use, and to assess which COVID-19 related stressors were predictors of these symptoms and substance use in a large Canadian sample of adolescents, with comparisons across genders. Participants (N = 809, Mage = 15.67, SD = 1.37) identified as a girl (56.2%), boy (38.7%), or trans/nonbinary individuals (TNBI;5.1%) and were recruited via social media to complete an online survey. A high proportion of adolescents reported symptoms of clinical concern for depression (51%), anxiety (39%), and posttraumatic stress disorder (45%). Other mental health problems ranged from 9% to 20%. Adolescents were mainly concerned with the health of family members and vulnerable populations, as well as the increased family stress at home during COVID-19. Rates of substance use were higher than expected, with over 50% of youth engaging in some form of substance use in the past 90 days, and almost 20% engaging in substance use at least once a week. TNBI and girls reported higher rates of mental health problems compared to boys. Family stress due to confinement and violence at home predicted higher mental health symptoms, but not substance use problems. Increased rates of mental health problems and substance use necessitate targeted supports that encourage positive coping amidst the additional stresses of COVID-19.

Canadian adolescents' mental health and substance use during the COVID-19 pandemic: Associations with COVID-19 stressors

There have been significant concerns regarding the mental health impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) due to isolation, anxiety around the pandemic, and increased conflict in the home. The purpose of this study was to examine the rates of mental health symptoms of clinical concern and substance use, and to assess which COVID-19 related stressors were predictors of these symptoms and substance use in a large Canadian sample of adolescents, with comparisons across genders. Participants (N = 809, Mage = 15.67, SD = 1.37) identified as a girl (56.2%), boy (38.7%), or trans/nonbinary individuals (TNBI;5.1%) and were recruited via social media to complete an online survey. A high proportion of adolescents reported symptoms of clinical concern for depression (51%), anxiety (39%), and posttraumatic stress disorder (45%). Other mental health problems ranged from 9% to 20%. Adolescents were mainly concerned with the health of family members and vulnerable populations, as well as the increased family stress at home during COVID-19. Rates of substance use were higher than expected, with over 50% of youth engaging in some form of substance use in the past 90 days, and almost 20% engaging in substance use at least once a week. TNBI and girls reported higher rates of mental health problems compared to boys. Family stress due to confinement and violence at home predicted higher mental health symptoms, but not substance use problems. Increased rates of mental health problems and substance use necessitate targeted supports that encourage positive coping amidst the additional stresses of COVID-19. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved) (French) D'importantes preoccupations ont ete soulevees au sujet des repercussions sur la sante mentale de la maladie causee par le coronavirus (COVID-19) en raison de l'isolement, de l'anxiete et de l'augmentation des conflits familiaux suscites par la pandemie. Cette etude a pour but d'examiner la presence de signes cliniques de maladie mentale et la consommation de substances, et de determiner les stresseurs lies a la pandemie qui permettent de predirent ces symptomes et l'usage de substances dans un vaste echantillon d'adolescents canadiens et selon les genres. Les participants (N = 809, Mage = 15,67, E.-T. = 1,37), qui se sont definis en tant que filles (56,2 %), garcons (38,7 %), personnes trans ou non binaires (TNB;5,1 %), ont ete recrutes au moyen des medias sociaux pour repondre a un questionnaire en ligne. Une proportion elevee d'adolescents a rapporte des signes cliniques de depression (51 %), d'anxiete (39 %) et de trouble de stress post-traumatique (45 %). Les taux d'autres problemes de maladie mentale allaient de 9 a 20 %. Les adolescents se souciaient surtout de la sante des membres de leur famille et des populations vulnerables, ainsi que du niveau plus eleve de stress de la famille durant la pandemie. Les taux d'usage de substances etaient plus eleves que prevu : plus de 50 % des jeunes rapportaient avoir consomme au cours des 90 derniers jours, et pres de 20 % consommaient au moins une fois par semaine. Les jeunes TNB et les filles rapportaient des taux plus eleves de troubles de sante mentale que les garcons. Le stress au sein de la famille cause par le confinement ainsi que la violence domestique etaient des facteurs associes a une plus grande incidence de symptome de maladie mentale, mais pas aux problemes de consommation de substances. Les taux plus eleves de problemes de sante mentale et de consommation de substances necessitent un soutien cible qui encourage le recours a des mecanismes positifs d'adaptation au stress supplementaire cause par la pandemie de COVID-19. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved) Impact Statement The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has put unprecedented stress on Canadian adolescence and their families. This paper found higher than expected clinically concerning number of symptoms of mental health problems including depression, anxiety, PTSD, and substance use in Canadian adolescents. Results also suggest that therapies focused on improving family functioning may help alleviate mental health problems in adolescents during and following the COVID-19 pandemic. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

In-Person Versus Online Learning in Relation to Students’ Perceptions of Mattering During COVID-19: A Brief Report

We examined students? perceptions of mattering during the pandemic in relation to in-person versus online learning in a sample of 6578 Canadian students in Grades 4?12. We found that elementary school students who attended school in-person reported mattering the most, followed by secondary school students who learned part-time in-person and the rest of the time online (blended learning group). The students who felt that they mattered the least were those who learned online full-time during the pandemic (elementary and secondary students). These results were not driven by a selection effect for school choice during the pandemic?our experimental design showed that students? perceptions of mattering did not differ by current learning modality when they were asked to reflect on their experiences before the pandemic even though some were also learning online full-time at the time they responded to our questions. No gender differences were found. As a validity check, we examined if mattering was correlated with school climate, as it has in past research. Results were similar in that a modest association between mattering and positive school climate was found in both experimental conditions. The results of this brief study show that in-person learning seems to help convey to students that they matter. This is important to know because students who feel like they matter are more protected, resilient, and engaged. Accordingly, mattering is a key educational indicator that ought to be considered when contemplating the merits of remote learning.

School bullying before and during COVID-19: Results from a population-based randomized design.

We examined the impact of COVID-19 on bullying prevalence rates in a sample of 6578 Canadian students in Grades 4 to 12. To account for school changes associated with the pandemic, students were randomized at the school level into two conditions: (1) the pre-COVID-19 condition, assessing bullying prevalence rates retrospectively before the pandemic, and (2) the current condition, assessing rates during the pandemic. Results indicated that students reported far higher rates of bullying involvement before the pandemic than during the pandemic across all forms of bullying (general, physical, verbal, and social), except for cyber bullying, where differences in rates were less pronounced. Despite anti-Asian rhetoric during the pandemic, no difference was found between East Asian Canadian and White students on bullying victimization. Finally, our validity checks largely confirmed previous published patterns in both conditions: (1) girls were more likely to report being bullied than boys, (2) boys were more likely to report bullying others than girls, (3) elementary school students reported higher bullying involvement than secondary school students, and (4) gender diverse and LGTBQ + students reported being bullied at higher rates than students who identified as gender binary or heterosexual. These results highlight that the pandemic may have mitigated bullying rates, prompting the need to consider retaining some of the educational reforms used to reduce the spread of the virus that could foster caring interpersonal relationships at school such as reduced class sizes, increased supervision, and blended learning.