By Mata Press Service

British Columbia students in Grades 7–12 have become more diverse with an increase in recent immigrants, international students, and those speaking a language other than English at home, states the latest 2018 BC Adolescent Health Survey.

As the regional results from the survey by the McCreary Centre Society, conducted in 58 of B.C.’s 60 school districts, are being rolled out, the data shows over the past decade, the percentage of youth who identified as European dropped, while those who identified as South Asian, Southeast Asian, Latin/South/Central American, West Asian, and African increased.

The percentage of students born in Canada decreased over the past decade (from 82% in

2008 to 79% in 2018). In 2018, 12% of those born outside Canada were permanent residents or

Canadian citizens, 6% were international students (an increase from 4% in 2013), and 1% were refugees.

Among those who were born abroad, 29% had been in this country between two and five years, and 25% had been here less than two years (an increase from 17% in 2008 and 22% in 2013).

Over half (53%) of BC youth spoke a language other than English at home, with 23% doing so most of the time. The proportion of students who spoke another language at home increased over the past decade (from 47% in 2008 and 49% in 2013).

The results are considered representative of over 95% of mainstream school students in Grades 7–12 in the province.

Here are some of the other key findings of the survey that involved 38,015 students from 2,175 classrooms in 840 schools;

• In 2018, most youth reported they had a good quality of life, and most also rated

their overall health and their mental health as good or excellent. For example, 79% felt they had a good life, and 73% felt their life was going well.

• In 2018, 15% of students reported missing classes in the past month because of mental

health challenges (e.g., depression, anxiety), and 14% were too anxious or depressed in the past year to participate in extracurricular activities.

• There was an increase from previous years in the percentage of students who had cut or injured themselves on purpose without trying to kill themselves, who had seriously considered killing themselves, and who had missed out on needed mental health services, although the percentage who had attempted suicide was lower than in 2013 and similar to 2008.

• Most BC youth aged 12–17 fell short of Canadian physical activity guidelines, although there was a slight increase in males who exercised daily (from 22% in 2013 to 24% in 2018).

• Twelve percent of youth with a phone used their device on their most recent school day to watch pornography. However, the percentage who used their phone for sexting halved (5% in 2018 vs. 10% in 2013).

• Half of students always ate breakfast on school days, which was a decrease from 2013, and less than 4 in 10 (37%) always ate three meals a day on school days. One in 10 BC students went to bed hungry because there was not enough money for food at home.

• The housing crisis in BC may be having an impact on students’ well-being, as youth were more likely than five years earlier to have moved to a new home and to have moved multiple times in the past year. Youth were also more likely to be living in homes with related and unrelated adults and children than previously.

• There was an overall decrease in the percentage of youth who smoked tobacco, and those who did smoke waited longer to try it. However, in the past month, 21% had vaped with nicotine and 19% without nicotine.

• Among students who drank alcohol last Saturday, 61% engaged in binge drinking, which was a decrease from 76% in 2013. Females remained more likely than males to exceed the recommended number of drinks for adults.

• The percentage of students who slept for eight or more hours the night before taking the survey decreased from 53% to 48%. Fewer than half of students (41%) reported going offline after their expected bedtime (e.g., turning off their phone or putting it on silent mode). Students who did go offline were more likely to have slept longer and woken up feeling rested.

• The majority of youth engaged in extracurricular activities over the past year. However, there were decreases in weekly participation in most activities (except cultural or traditional activities), including decreases in organized sports, informal sports, and dance/exercise classes.

• The percentage of students who had oral sex or intercourse was unchanged from five years earlier, although a lower percentage had intercourse at a young age. However, among those who did have intercourse, the percentage for whom withdrawal was their only attempt to prevent pregnancy increased from 6% to 10%.

• Most students (71%) felt they had an adult inside their family they could talk to if they had a serious problem, and 27% had an adult outside the family they could talk to. These percentages were lower than in previous years. Compared to 2013, students were more likely to feel connected to their community and to have an adult in their community who cared about them.

• Youth who got enough sleep, ate well, exercised, and went offline, and those who felt supported and connected to family, school, community and peers reported better health than those who did not have these experiences and supports.