The distribution of hunger in Canadian youth.

Introduction: As a foundation for prevention, evidence is required to establish the contemporary distribution of hunger in Canadian adolescents. We present findings from a nationally representative survey of young Canadians on how perceived hunger is distributed demographically, socially and contextually.

Methods: A probability-based sample of 15 656 young Canadians aged 11 to 15 years who completed the 2017/18 cycle of the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children study was used.

Perceived School Belonging Among Youth with Chronic Physical Illness.

In a sample of youth aged 10-16 years with chronic physical illness, this study examined psychometric properties of a modified Psychological Sense of School Membership (m-PSSM) scale; described longitudinal trends in perceptions over 24 months; and, identified factors associated with school belonging. Youth were recruited from a pediatric hospital in Canada. A total of 105 youth attended school in the past year and provided self-reports.

Association Between Diet and Mental Health Outcomes in a Sample of 13,887 Adolescents in Canada.

Introduction: The high prevalence of mental disorders among adolescents calls for community-based and population-level prevention strategies. Diet is an important intervention target for primary prevention of mental disorders among adolescents. We used data from a large longitudinal study of Canadian adolescents (aged 14-18 y) to examine prospective associations between diet and mental health outcomes.

"I don't feel fully prepared": a qualitative study of recently graduated students' mental health experiences of the transition out of university.

Objective: This study aimed to better understand the mental health experiences of students as they prepared to transition out of university.

Participants: Participants included 18 recently graduated students from a Canadian university.

Methods: Virtual one-on-one semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted and analyzed following the protocol for content analysis and using QSR NVivo.

Inequities in sleep duration and quality among adolescents in Canada.

Background: Several recent global events may have impacted adolescent sleep and exacerbated pre-existing disparities by social positions (i.e., social roles, identity or sociodemographic factors, and/or group memberships that are associated with power and oppression due to the structures and processes in a given society at given time).

Income inequality and comorbid overweight/obesity and depression among a large sample of Canadian secondary school students: The mediator effect of social cohesion.

Background: Comorbid overweight/obesity (OWO) and depression is emerging as a public health problem among adolescents. Income inequality is a structural determinant of health that independently increases the risk for both OWO and depression among youth. However, no study has examined the association between income inequality and comorbid OWO and depression or tested potential mechanisms involved.

Public health unit engagement in school mental health programs and adolescent mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic: COMPASS, 2018-2022.

Background: Public health unit (PHU) engagement in schools is important for promoting wellness in students. We aimed to investigate if PHU engagement with schools may have provided protection against the risk of depression and anxiety in students during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: We used longitudinal data from the Cannabis, Obesity, Mental health, Physical activity, Alcohol use, Smoking and Sedentary behaviour survey between the 2018/19 and 2020/21 academic years.

Do sociodemographic risk profiles for adolescents engaging in weekly e-cigarette, cigarette, and dual product use differ?

Background: E-cigarette use represents a contemporary mode of nicotine product use that may be changing the risk profile of participating adolescents. Understanding differences in sociodemographic characteristics of adolescents engaging in contemporary e-cigarette use and traditional cigarette use is important for effectively developing and targeting public health intervention programs. The objective of this study was to identify and compare sociodemographic risk profiles for exclusive e-cigarette use and dual-product use among a large sample of Canadian youth.

Using random forest to identify correlates of depression symptoms among adolescents.

Purpose: Adolescent depression is a significant public health concern, and studying its multifaceted factors using traditional methods possess challenges. This study employs random forest (RF) algorithms to determine factors predicting adolescent depression scores.

Methods: This study utilized self-reported survey data from 56,008 Canadian students (grades 7-12) attending 182 schools during the 2021/22 academic year.

Exploring the association between income inequality and sleep in Canadian adolescents: A path analysis approach.

Objectives: An estimated 30% of Canadian adolescents do not get the recommended 8-10hours of sleep. No prior study has examined the role of income inequality, the gap between rich and poor within a society, in adolescent sleep. The aim of this study is to examine the association between income inequality and sleep duration among Canadian adolescents, how this association differs by gender, and whether depressive symptoms, anxiety, and social cohesion mediate this relationship.

Changing eating to manage weight or shape: A cross-sectional and prospective study of the prevalence and correlates in a large Canadian adolescent cohort.

Objective: The present study examined reports of changing eating to manage weight/shape over one year among adolescents. It also tested how changing eating for weight/shape was associated with physical activity (resistance training, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity; MVPA) and mental health (depressive symptoms, flourishing), and whether weight perceptions moderated these associations.

Methods: Participants were Canadian adolescents (N = 20,614, M ± SD = 14.

Exploring the association between internalized weight bias and mental health among Canadian adolescents.

Background: Internalized weight bias (IWB) has been identified as a correlate of higher depressive and anxiety symptoms in adolescents with higher weights. However, there has been limited investigation into how IWB relates to positive mental health and whether these associations differ across genders.

Objectives: To examine the associations between IWB and mental health (depression, anxiety, flourishing) in adolescents with higher weights, and to test the potential moderating role of gender.

The association between single and dual use of cannabis and alcohol and driving under the influence and riding with an impaired driver in a large sample of Canadian adolescents.

Objective: Dual use of cannabis and alcohol has increased in adolescents, but limited research has examined how it relates to impaired driving or riding with an impaired driver (IDR) compared to single substance use. This study aimed to examine the odds of alcohol- and/or cannabis-IDR among adolescents based on their use of alcohol and/or cannabis, and whether associations differed by gender and age.

Methods: Cross-sectional survey data were used from a sample of 69,621 students attending 182 Canadian secondary schools in the 2021/22 school year.

Exploring differences in substance use behaviours among gender minority and non-gender minority youth: a cross-sectional analysis of the COMPASS study.

Introduction: Research characterizing substance use disparities between gender minority youth (GMY) and non-GMY (i.e. girls and boys) is limited.

A prospective study of financial worry, mental health changes and the moderating effect of social support among Canadian adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic intensified the impact of risk factors for adolescent mental health, including financial worry. Social support has shown to protect from negative mental health during times of stress. We examined the effect of financial worry on changes in anxiety and depression symptoms among Canadian adolescents prior to and during the pandemic, and assessed whether social support from family and friends moderated any changes.

Factors associated with prospective changes in weight control intentions among adolescents.

Introduction: The present study examined predictors of negative changes in weight control intentions from before to during the COVID-19 pandemic among adolescents.

Methods: Participants were Canadian secondary school students enrolled in the COMPASS study and had completed self-report surveys before (T1; 2018/2019 and/or 2019/2020 school year) and during (T2; 2020/2021 and/or 2021/2022) the COVID-19 pandemic (N = 11,869, M ± SD = 13.79 years old ± 1.

Inequities in dietary intake and eating behaviours among adolescents in Canada.

Objective: To provide contemporary evidence of how dietary intake and eating behaviours vary by social positions among adolescents.

Methods: We used survey data collected during the 2020-2021 school year from 52,138 students attending 133 secondary schools in Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario, and Quebec, Canada. Multiple regression models tested whether self-reported indicators of dietary intake and eating behaviours differed by gender, race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic status (SES).

Inequitable Changes in School Connectedness During the Ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic in a Cohort of Canadian Adolescents.

Background: We examined whether subgroups of adolescents experienced disparate changes in school connectedness-a robust predictor of multiple health outcomes-from before the COVID-19 pandemic to the first full school year following pandemic onset.

Methods: We used 2 waves of prospective survey data from 7178 students attending 41 Canadian secondary schools that participated during the 2019-2020 (T1; pre-COVID-19 onset) and 2020-2021 (T2; ongoing pandemic) school years. Fixed effects analyses tested differences in school connectedness changes by gender, race, bullying victimization, socioeconomic position, and school learning mode.

Changes in breakfast and water consumption among adolescents in Canada: examining the impact of COVID-19 in worsening inequity.

Background: To assess whether changes in breakfast and water consumption during the first full school year after the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic varied based on sex/gender, race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic status among Canadian adolescents.

Methods: Prospective annual survey data collected pre- (October 2019-March 2020) and post-COVID-19 onset (November 2020-June 2021) the Cannabis, Obesity, Mental health, Physical activity, Alcohol, Smoking, and Sedentary behaviour (COMPASS) study. The sample consisted of 8,128 students; mean (SD) age = 14.

Youth perception of difficulty accessing cannabis following cannabis legalization and during the early and ongoing stages of the COVID-19 pandemic: repeat cross-sectional and longitudinal data from the COMPASS study.

Background: Very little research has examined how perceptions of cannabis access among underage youth in Canada have changed since cannabis was legalized and since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. As such, this paper examines the effect of the early and ongoing stages of the COVID-19 pandemic period on youth perceptions of cannabis access over time since the onset of the Cannabis Act in 2018 in a large sample of Canadian youth.

Methods: Using data from the COMPASS study (T1:2018/19, T2:2019/20, T3:2020/21), we used both repeat cross-sectional data [T1 (n = 38,890), T2 (n = 24,109), and T3 (n = 22,795)] to examine overall trends in perceptions of cannabis access, and sequential cohort longitudinal data [n = 4,677 students linked from T1 to T3] to examine the differential changes in perceptions of cannabis access among students over time.

An Examination of Bidirectional Associations Between Alcohol Use and Internalizing Symptoms Among Adolescents During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Purpose: This study explores the bidirectional association between internalizing symptoms and alcohol use over three years of the COVID-19 pandemic to examine whether alcohol consumption is associated with higher internalizing symptoms in the next year and vice versa.

Methods: We used linked data from a sample of 2,136 secondary school students who participated in three consecutive waves (2019-2020 [T1], 2020-2021 [T2], and 2021-2022 [T3]) of the Cannabis use, Obesity, Mental health, Physical activity, Alcohol use, Smoking, and Sedentary behaviour study during the pandemic. A random-intercept cross-lagged panel model was used to characterize reciprocal linear relations between internalizing symptoms and alcohol use.

Self-concept in Adolescents with Physical-Mental Comorbidity.

Objective: Little is known about self-concept in adolescents with physical-mental comorbidity. This study investigated whether physical-mental comorbidity was associated with self-concept in adolescents and examined if adolescent age or sex moderated the association between physical-mental comorbidity and self-concept.

Methods: Study data were obtained from the Multimorbidity in Youth across the Life-course (MY LIFE), an ongoing Canadian study of adolescents with chronic physical illness who were recruited from outpatient clinics at a pediatric hospital.

Income inequality and mental health in adolescents during COVID-19, results from COMPASS 2018-2021.

Introduction: Understanding the inequitable impacts of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic on youth mental health are leading priorities. Existing research has linked income inequality in schools to adolescent depression, however, it is unclear if the onset of the pandemic exacerbated the effects of income inequality on adolescent mental health. The current study aimed to quantify the association between income inequality and adolescent mental health during COVID-19.