PRESENTATIONS
You can find selected presentations from the CHART team here.
7th International Conference on Youth Mental Health
Vancouver, BC | March 18-21, 2025
In March 2025, the CHART team attended the 7th International Conference on Youth Mental Health. We presented six abstracts, which included three oral presentations, two lightning sessions, and one poster. A big thank you to Dr. Hasina Samji, Harnoor Dhaliwal, Judy Wu, and Julia Kaufmann, who represented our team at the conference! You can find more information about our presentations below.
1. Oral: Gender Differences in the Dose-Response Relationship Between Social Media Use and Eating Disorder Symptoms Among BC Youth
Jorge Andrés Delgado-Ron, Jenna Whitehead, Julia Kaufmann, Judy Wu, Giulia de Arruda Maluf, Hasina Samji
Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic provoked a sustained increase in online activity among youth, including recreational use. Likewise, data from different hospital sites across Canada and Europe have shown a sharp increase in eating disorder-related hospitalizations during and after the pandemic. Social media use and its constant portrayal of unrealistic body types have been previously linked to poor body image and disordered eating, particularly affecting girls, transgender individuals, and sexual minorities. Intersectionality, considering overlapping identities such as gender and minority sexual orientation, reveals compounded vulnerabilities to eating disorders. We aimed to assess and compare the effects of time spent on social media as well as social media avoidance on eating disorder risk and symptomatology among adolescent students in British Columbia (BC), Canada, across intersecting identities of gender and sexual orientation.
Methods: Our serial cross-sectional study uses data from the last three installments (2022-2024) of a population-level youth well-being survey, the Youth Development Instrument (YDI). The survey is conducted annually in BC schools, primarily among Grade 11 students (16 years old). Our main exposure was time spent on social media (‘Never’, ‘Not all days’, ‘<1h/day’, ‘1-2 h/day’, ‘2-3 h/day’, ‘3-4 h/day’, ‘4-6 h/day’, ‘7+ h/day’) and the outcome was signs of disordered eating (measured by the InsideOut Institute Screener). We fitted linear and logistic regression models for cisgender-heterosexual (cis-het) boys and girls, cis-gender sexual minority (SM) boys and girls, and trans and gender-expansive (TGE) participants. The adjustment set included age, number of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) (e.g., neglect, poverty, parental incarceration), number of protective childhood experiences (PCEs) (e.g., school/peer belonging, feeling safe at home), and affluence. We also estimated the effect of avoiding social media on eating disorder scores for each of these five groups.
Results: Among 35,177 youth, 8,257 (23.5%) showed signs of disordered eating. The proportion of participants showing signs of disordered eating was higher among TGE participants (40.8%) and SM-girls (43.3%) than cis-hetero-girls (32.2%). All these, in turn, were significantly higher than SM-boys (16.5%) and cis-hetero-boys (9.2%). Despite differences in baseline risk, we found a dose-response relationship between time on social media and signs of disordered eating for all groups. Avoiding social media would reduce the score for signs of eating disorders by 16.1% for cis-het girls, 16.2% for SM girls, 13.6% for SM boys, 11.1% for TGE youth, and 7.5% for cis-het boys, with statistically significant differences between girls and cis-het boys. Five or more PCEs provided a statistically protective effect for most groups, whereas ACEs had the opposite effect.
Conclusion: Time spent on social media is significantly associated with increased odds of eating disorder signs in youth, independent of income, age, history of adverse experiences, and supportive environments. The association showed a dose-response relationship. Avoiding social media has the potential to reduce the risk and symptoms of eating disorders for all groups, but girls may benefit substantially more than others.
2. Oral: School-based Mental Health Promotion: Connecting the dots between health and education in British Columbia, Canada
Rachel Joan Goossen, Jenna Whitehead, Hasina Samji, Giulia de Arruda Maluf, Tanushree Kunwar
Mental health promotion (MHP) is well-recognized in British Columbia (BC), Canada, as a fundamental component of comprehensive well-being and is prioritized within both the education and public health systems. In 2023, our team undertook an environmental scan (survey) to understand the existing landscape of MHP in the BC K–12 school system. We gathered evidence from educators, administrators, and public health practitioners of MHP initiatives in their school communities including daily practices, implementation of formal programs, and organizational frameworks. We used qualitative and quantitative survey participant responses to understand the existing landscape of MHP in BC, reflections of successes and barriers to supporting both student and educator mental health and well-being, and opportunities for cross-sectoral collaboration to promote well-being across the education and public health systems. We focused on the universal level of MHP and did not aim to gather experiential data of targeted interventions.
Our findings highlight a duality of realities. First, great work is being done in school communities to support student mental health and well-being. Second, implementation and maintenance of existing initiatives are often fragmented, limiting their effectiveness. We learned that 90% of school strategic plans and public health school support services include mental health and well-being as a key area of focus. Respondents noted a wide array of MHP initiatives present in school communities across the province, with nearly twice as many initiatives focused on student well-being compared to those supporting educator well-being.
Across participant groups, there was a call for increased support of the adults who are charged with promoting the well-being of students. Educators reported feeling burnt out and data revealed that participants felt they had more resources available to support student well-being than educator well-being. Yet, the well-being of both students and educators cannot be viewed in isolation, as research has shown the interconnectedness between each. To universally promote student mental health in schools effectively, the well-being of adults in schools must also be addressed.
A second salient theme relates to the connectedness and collaboration between health, education, and community partners to build a thriving school community. Participants voiced concerns about fragmented and isolated implementation of MHP initiatives and a lack of resources/expertise to evaluate their ongoing efforts. Both of these concerns may be addressed through greater collaboration with the public health system, whereby local health authorities may support the implementation and evaluation of initiatives, while guiding frameworks, data, and resources may be provided from a provincial level, incorporating knowledge from both public health and education. Participants called for clear guidance of priorities, data to guide their decision-making, and evidence to reference when engaging with students, families, and the broader school community.
Participants’ perspectives on current challenges, possibilities, and successes allow us to imagine the positive outcomes that can flourish when public health and education sectors work together. In light of Canadian data suggesting worsening mental health trends among young people, we view universal MHP as an essential ingredient to proactively support comprehensive mental health and well-being throughout school communities.
3. Oral: Including Youth Perspectives in Cross-Sectoral Collaborations for Mental Health Promotion and Prevention in School Communities
Hasina Samji, Michelle Cianfrone, Mari del Casal, Jenna Whitehead, Jacquie Maloney, Giulia de Arruda Maluf
Introduction: This presentation describes a collaboration among youth, researchers, healthcare, and school districts designed to prevent mental illness and promote mental health and well-being at the population level. Presenters will describe data from the Youth Development Instrument (YDI), a self-reported population-level survey that measures protective and promotive factors for adolescents’ mental health and well-being. YDI data is being mobilized by the Health Promotion and Schools team at BC Children’s Hospital via its Practice Support Coaching program, a collaborative initiative with school districts designed to reduce barriers for school communities to equitably implement mental health promotion activities, in collaboration with youth partners.
Objectives: This project aims to facilitate youth-driven solutions for promoting mental well-being and preventing mental illness at the population level. This data-to-action collaboration may serve as a blueprint for other regions seeking ways to incorporate student voice into district policy and practice for mental health promotion in school communities.
Methods: Designed in collaboration with youth, educators, public health practitioners and policymakers, the YDI is a population-level survey administered to youth ages 15 to 18 in schools that includes established measures validated with adolescent populations. The YDI measures adolescents’ perspectives on protective and promotive factors for mental well-being across five dimensions: social and emotional development; learning and engagement; social well-being; physical and mental health; and navigating the world. It includes measures of mental health outcomes, such as depression, generalized anxiety, disordered eating, perceived stress, externalizing behaviors, and substance use. Applying a dual continua framework, the YDI conceptualizes mental health as the presence of mental well-being with or without the presence of a diagnosed mental illness. Thus, the YDI also measures mental well-being, thriving, and life satisfaction. The YDI research team provides school districts with reports describing data from their general school population as well as sub-populations (e.g., 2SLGBTQIA+, youth with mental health conditions, gender identities). The BC Children’s practice support coaches help school district leaders interpret YDI reports and provide individualized and tailored support to school district-level staff responsible for mental health promotion. They provide support creating/revising, implementing, monitoring and sustaining data-driven and contextually-relevant mental health plans and strategies. A mixed-method study evaluated the acceptability, feasibility, and preliminary effectiveness of the coaching program.
Results: Key protective and promotive factors for mental health and well-being identified in YDI data included inclusive and equitable school environments that contribute to a positive school climate and school belonging. Coaches use this data to work in collaboration with school districts to implement data-to-action initiatives. Evaluation of the practice support coaching program indicated the program is well-received by school districts and effectively supports data-driven decision-making and planning. Coaching participants indicated that the program also has supported them in student engagement efforts to understand students’ perspectives on how to action YDI findings. They also use YDI data to guide decision-making in policy and practice.
Conclusion: Presenters will discuss key considerations that support this collaboration, barriers, and future directions for this work. Suggestions for adapting this model to other regions will be provided.
4. Lightning: Trends in youth mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic and recovery period: differential improvements across sub-populations
Hasina Samji, Jorge Andrés Delgado-Ron, David Long, Judy Wu, Giulia de Arruda Maluf, Jenna Whitehead, Harnoor Dhaliwal
Introduction: The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated public health control measures have been pervasive and especially pronounced for youth. However, pandemic impacts have not been distributed equally, with equity-deserving groups, like youth who are gender diverse or who have low family affluence, disproportionately affected.
Objectives: We explored trends in positive mental health (PMH) and symptoms of mental illness in a population-level sample of youth in British Columbia (BC), Canada, and whether trends differed according to key equity-deserving groups.
Methods: The Youth Development Instrument (YDI) is a serial cross-sectional wellbeing survey implemented in schools by school staff to youth aged 15-17 across BC. Key outcomes in this analysis included PMH (Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale short form), screening positive for depression (Patient Health Quesionnaire-8) and generalized anxiety (Generalized Anxiety Disorder 2 item scale).
This analysis included Grade 11 students from school districts that have participated in the YDI since its first implementation in the 2020/2021 school year. We calculated raw and adjusted mean scores for four school year periods (up to 2023/2024). Our linear mixed effects model included school year as the dependent variable and added fixed effects of age, gender, sexual orientation, family affluence, racial identity, population density, and country of birth; school district was a random effect. 95% confidence intervals were computed based on t-scores and standard errors. We conducted subgroup analyses within strata of gender and family affluence. Finally, we estimated unadjusted means for a subsample of participants who participated in both 2022/2023 and 2023/2024.
Results: Mean scores for anxiety have consistently decreased since 2020/2021, with the 2023/2024 estimate found to be significantly lower than all previous estimates (2.56, 95%CI: 2.47-2.65 vs. 2.25, 95%CI: 2.15-2.33). An equally meaningful improvement was seen in the mean score of PMH, which decreased initially but meaningfully improved in 2023/2024 (23.23, 95%CI: 22.99-23.47), when it returned to 2020/2021 levels (23.41, 95%CI: 23.14-23.68). Similarly, the latest PHQ-8 scores (8.33, 95%CI: 8.06-8.60) are comparable to those from 2020/2021 (8.72, 95%CI: 8.43-9.02) and were significantly better than the previous two years.
Among a subsample of 922 youth who participated in the last two YDI implementations, overall trends remained (i.e., lower means for anxiety and depression and a higher PMH mean in the second year). However, only the average change in PMH was statistically significant. Subgroup analysis showed improvements in mental health are not equally distributed, particularly with respect to family affluence. Scores of high-affluence participants improved over time, whereas those of low-affluence participants showed the opposite. There was also a dose-response relationship between family affluence and absolute mean scores for depression, PHM, and anxiety. Clear inequities were detected across gender outcomes, with gender-diverse students reporting worse outcomes, followed by girls and then boys.
Conclusion: Overall, we see a recovery across symptoms of common mental illnesses among youth, generalized anxiety and depression, from 2021 to 2024. However, trends differ according to family affluence and gender.
5. Lightning: Climate Concern and Eco-anxiety in BC Youth: Findings from the Youth Development Instrument
Judy Wu, Jorge Andrés Delgado-Ron, Jenna Whitehead, Julia Kaufmann, Giulia de Arruda Maluf, Hasina Samji
Introduction: A growing number of reports are describing increased worry about environmental degradation. Terms such as eco-anxiety have emerged to describe experiences of heightened anxiety and fear related to the climate crisis and other environmental problems. Among adults, eco-anxiety has been associated with symptoms of generalized anxiety and depression, as well as poor overall mental health and well-being. As the global environmental crisis grows in urgency, eco-anxiety could exacerbate existing mental health disorders or precipitate new psychological conditions. This is of particular concern among youth, who disproportionately experience the impacts of the global environmental crisis. For instance, children and adolescents are likely to experience repeated stressors related to the climate crisis throughout their lifetimes in comparison to previous generations. Moreover, this age group is in a developmental period that is highly sensitive to stressors. Despite growing efforts to measure eco-anxiety in the broader population, few studies have focused on children or adolescents.
Objectives: The objective of this study was to assess levels of climate concern and eco-anxiety in a Canadian sample of adolescents using the Youth Development Instrument (YDI), a youth well-being survey.
Methods: The YDI is a cross-sectional survey that aims to identify resources, opportunities, and practices that contribute to positive youth development. The survey is administered electronically in schools by school staff across British Columbia (BC) for students aged 15-18. Questions relating to climate concern (3 items) and eco-anxiety (6 items) were included on the 2023 version of the YDI. Climate concern items were drawn from a scale aimed at measuring climate change attitudes in adolescents, and eco-anxiety items were drawn from the Hogg Eco-anxiety Scale. Descriptive analyses of climate concern and eco-anxiety items were conducted.
Results: A total of 14,596 respondents (46% girls; 6% gender minority) were included. The majority of adolescents (72.3%) reported feeling worried about climate change and 74.1% thought the threat should be taken more seriously. Additionally, 75.9% of respondents agreed that climate change was a phenomenon that was harmful to humans and nature. A smaller proportion of respondents reported experiences of eco-anxiety. The most reported experience was feeling nervous, anxious, or on edge due to the environment, with 45% of respondents reporting prior experience for at least several of the days within the past two weeks. Similarly, 40.7% of respondents reported feeling anxious in the previous two weeks because they felt their personal behaviours would do little to help fix the problem. A smaller percentage of respondents (32.4%) reported difficulty working and/or studying due to thoughts about climate change and other environmental problems.
Conclusion: Our findings indicate many BC youth are experiencing environment-related mental health impacts. Additionally, certain experiences of eco-anxiety, such as those related to cognitive impairments, were generally found to be more common than behavioural impairments. Developing resources to help youth cope with environmental-related stressors will be a pressing priority in coming years. Schools may serve as a unique opportunity to employ eco-anxiety programming and resources to support this age group during the global environmental crisis.
6. Poster: Community belonging increases odds of seeking mental health help when needed among youth
Jenna Whitehead, Giulia de Arruda Maluf, Jorge Andrés Delgado-Ron, Angela Low, Hasina Samji
Several studies have examined factors influencing youth mental health-seeking behaviors, such as mental health (MH) literacy and stigma, yet the relationship between these behaviors and community belonging, a recognized protective factor, remains unclear. Building on research that has linked community belonging to increased health-related help-seeking in adults, our study examines associations between students’ perceptions of community belonging to their (a) MH help-seeking behaviour and (b) reasons for not seeking MH help, when it was needed.
Our study used data from the 2024 Youth Development Instrument (YDI), a population level survey on high school students’ well-being in British Columbia (BC), Canada. Our exposure was community belonging, a composite 4-item Likert-type scale with response options from 1 (disagree a lot) to 5 (agree a lot). Scores were summed with a minimum score of 4 and a maximum score of 20, where higher scores reflect a greater sense of community belonging. Our main outcomes were not seeking help when feeling concerned about MH, and reasons for not seeking help. We fitted three binary logistic regression models for boys, girls, and non-binary participants, adjusting for age.
This study was limited to a subset of students who reported having an existing MH condition (4,298 out of the 17,123 YDI participants). The final sample included students in grades 10 – 12 (Mage = 16.66; SD = 0.64), comprising 1,403 boys, 2,444 girls, 405 non-binary youth, and 46 participants whose gender was not reported. Average community belonging was 13.53 (SD=3.69). Over half (52.7%) of participating students reported that they did not seek professional help in the past six months despite having concerns about their MH. The proportion varied significantly by gender (p<0.001), with non-binary youth being most likely to have MH concerns but not seek help (67.8%), followed by girls (56.6%) and boys (41.5%). Among students who reported reasons for not seeking help, the top responses were thinking they could manage their concerns by themselves (72.6%), not getting around to it (43.6%), and feeling afraid of what others would think of them (36.4%).
We found that a one-unit increase in the scale of community belonging decreased the odds of not seeking help by 12%, controlling for age (OR=0.88; 95%CI: 0.87, 0.90). Sub-population analyses revealed similar association for boys (OR=0.89; 95%CI: 0.86, 0.92), girls (OR=0.86, 95%CI: 0.83, 0.88), and non-binary youth (OR=0.91; 95%CI: 0.86, 0.97). The odds of wanting to manage their own mental health concerns increased with community belonging (OR=1.05; 95%CI: 1.03, 1.08). Community belonging decreased the odds of reporting a lack of confidence in professional help (OR=0.92, 95%CI: 0.90, 0.95), not knowing where to find help (OR=0.92; 0.89, 0.94), and concerns about what others would think (OR=0.95; 95%CI: 0.93, 0.98).
These findings suggest that feeling connected to their community makes it easier for young people to reach out for help when needed. This may be due to fewer feelings of isolation and stigma associated with MH issues, as well as increased trust in and accessibility of MH services.
2024 Annual Conference on Advancing School Mental Health
Orlando, FL | December 5-7, 2024
In December 2024, the CHART team participated in the 2024 Advancing School Mental Health Conference, presenting two on-demand sessions:
Thriving School Communities - A BC Case Study on promoting mental well-being through cross-sectoral collaboration
Watch Rachel Goossen share key insights from our project “An Exploration of School-Based Mental Health Promotion Initiatives in British Columbia.”
This project gathered cross-sectoral perspectives from public health practitioners and educators across BC to examine school-based mental health promotion initiatives throughout the province. Our findings indicated a clear need for more coordinated and equitable implementation of these efforts, a sentiment echoed across the health and education sectors. Project participants underscored the imperative of comprehensive engagement, community partnerships, and informed policy guidance to foster student and educator wellbeing. Their insights shed light on the positive outcomes that can flourish when public health and education sectors work together.
You can read the full report here.
Cross-sectoral Collaboration to Create Dream Schools for Well-being
CHART and BC Children’s Hospital (BCCH) Health Promotion and Health Literacy teams delivered a joint presentation at the 2024 ASMH!
Julia Kaufmann (CHART) and Mari del Casal (BCCH) discussed the cross-sectoral knowledge mobilization efforts of a youth participatory action research (YPAR) study. This project, inspired by an exercise from Emerging Minds (Chapman et al., 2022), explored key school factors contributing to adolescent well-being. BC youth participated in focus groups to envision “dream schools” for well-being and four youth researchers analyzed the data, which now inform the BCCH Support Coaching Program work. This program helps school districts create, implement, monitor, revise, and sustain mental health plans and strategies for schools.
Julia and Mari shared insights on integrating youth expertise, youth-adult collaboration, and research to promote mental health in schools. These findings – and the participatory process of obtaining them – can be used to support youth well-being across school communities.
Do you want to learn more about this project and the BCCH Support Coaching program? Contact us!
BC Schools Trustees Academy
Vancouver, BC | November 23, 2024
Dr. Hasina Samji joined the Human Early Learning Partnership (HELP/UBC) team at the BC Schools Trustees Association (BCSTA) Academy in November 2024 for a HELPx session!
This high-energy presentation explored the Child Development Monitoring System data, emphasizing the long-standing partnership between HELP, CHART Lab, and school districts.
Dr. Samji provided an overview of the Youth Development Instrument (YDI) survey, including key findings from the 2024 provincial report. She also discussed the critical role of schools in supporting mental wellbeing and the importance of meaningful youth engagement.
This dynamic HELPx session showed how data could support decision-making and relationship-building and reinforced how culture, belonging, and systems collaboration are key to promoting children and youth wellbeing.
BC Health Officers Council
White Rock, BC | October 24, 2024
At the Health Officer Council, Dr. Hasina Samji explored social connection as a key determinant of health, influencing physical and mental health outcomes across all age groups.
The talk showed the decline in social connectedness in recent years – a trend worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic, with young people disproportionately affected.
Dr. Samji emphasized the importance of fostering social connection to strengthen positive childhood experiences, which serve as protective factors for mental wellbeing. We need to shift from focusing solely on individual factors and instead ‘recreate the village’ around youth. Therefore, improving social and community wellbeing is crucial.
Notably, youth themselves are key resources in their communities and can be leaders in fostering social connection and driving positive change.
Canadian Knowledge Mobilization Forum
Montreal, QC | June 19-21, 2024
CHART Lab graduate student, Julia Kaufmann, attended the Canadian Knowledge Mobilization Forum in Montreal in November! Themed around “building capacity for knowledge mobilization and research impact,” Julia presented (and lead a discussion) on youth engagement in knowledge mobilization.
“CKF24 was a great opportunity to connect with other knowledge mobilizers, discuss challenges and opportunities in the field, deepen my theoretical understanding, and learn tangible skills for working collaboratively to increase research impact. I will definitely bring what I’ve learned back to the CHART Lab team!”
CAIS National Leaders Conference
Vancouver, BC | April 15, 2024
Dr. Samji’s presentation, “Spotlight on student mental health and well-being: findings from the YDI and leveraging data for action,” highlighted the critical role of adolescence as a “window of opportunity” for promoting mental health and youth well-being, emphasizing the significant social and personal transitions occurring during this period.
The session illustrated the opportunity to integrate quantitative data with experiential, qualitative data to provide key insights into youth well-being in school communities. Drawing from recent YDI data, Dr. Samji discussed inequities in BC, where certain groups face greater mental health challenges and experience school less positively than others.
Sharing examples of recent projects, Dr. Samji highlighted opportunities to use data for mental health promotion planning, specifically to support context-appropriate understanding and implementation. She emphasized that the active engagement of all school community members is key to addressing the province’s current challenges.
BC School Superintendents Association 2024 Spring Forum
Vancouver, BC | April 12, 2024
In April, Dr. Hasina Samji, alongside Ari Zwinge (CHART Lab Youth Advisory Council member and grade 12 student in the Abbotsford School District) and Dr. Nathan Ngieng (Deputy Superintendent of the Abbotsford School District and past president of BC CAISE), delivered a joint presentation at the BC School Superintendents Association Spring Forum.
Their talk, titled Engaging Student Voice in School Policy and Practice: Examples from the Youth Development Instrument Project, emphasized the role of student agency and engagement in driving meaningful, student-led changes in school policies and practices.
The presentation highlighted key findings from the 2024 Youth Development Instrument (YDI) on student engagement across 31 school districts. Dr. Samji, Ari, and Dr. Ngieng shared their experiences on how students can be actively involved in mobilizing YDI data to effect positive change across school districts in the province.
Attendees were introduced to the CHART Lab Youth Advisory Council (YAC) and learned about their role in the YDI’s development, including refining the survey content, introducing it to schools, and translating research findings into actionable initiatives. Examples of successful student engagement were also showcased, such as the YDI Summer Research Institute and the Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) project. Additionally, Dr. Ngieng shared his work with the Abbotsford School District YDI Action Symposium as an example of student involvement.
The session underscored the value of cross-sectoral collaborations promoting student engagement among students, school districts, and researchers. It was also an opportunity to reflect on the importance of hearing directly from BC students about how school districts can boost student engagement and promote well-being.
Annual Cascadia Symposium on Environmental, Occupational, and Population Health
Blaine, Washington | January 11 - 12, 2024
Judy Wu, our doctoral student, won the ‘Best Oral Presentation’ award at the Annual Cascadia Symposium on Environmental, Occupational, and Population Health in Blaine, Washington.
Judy’s presentation, “Climate Concern and Eco-anxiety in BC Youth: Findings from the 2023 Youth Development Instrument Survey,” detailed important research findings related to her doctoral thesis, which seeks to generate new knowledge on the mental health impacts of climate change and other environmental issues on youth. Specifically, she is interested in the phenomenon of ‘eco-anxiety’ – the negative emotions such as fear, anxiety, and sadness associated with climate change and environmental issues.
From the YDI data, 45.0% of respondents (n = 5089) reported ‘feeling nervous, anxious, or on edge’ regarding climate change and other environmental issues within the past two weeks. Additionally, 40.7% (n = 4530) felt anxious that their personal behaviours would do little to help fix the problems. However, a smaller proportion of students (13.5%) were identified to have a significant number of eco-anxiety experiences (i.e., different experiences of eco-anxiety at moderate to high frequency). Interestingly, several demographic factors were also found to be associated with having a significant number of eco-anxiety experiences including experiencing financial pressure and identifying as LGBTQIA2S+. These findings point to areas where greater research work is required, including collaboration with youth to further interpret and contextualize quantitative YDI results and co-development of youth-specific resources for eco-anxiety.
2023 Annual Conference on Advancing School Mental Health
New Orleans, LA | December 5 - 7, 2023
In December, Dr. Hasina Samji and Dr. Jacquie Maloney from the CHART Lab teamed up with YDI Youth Advisory Council members, Daniel Chen and Harnoor Dhaliwal, and our colleagues Mari del Casal and Dr. Alexander Gist at BC Children’s Hospital Mental Health Promotion and Literacy Team to represent Canada at the 2023 Annual Conference on Advancing School Mental Health in New Orleans.
The conference theme was Building Hopeful Futures for All Youth. Their joint presentation illustrated the value of cross-sectoral collaborations for supporting adolescent mental health and the importance of including youth perspectives in mental health initiatives.
Banff International Conference on Behavioural Science
Banff, Alberta | March 19 - 22, 2023
The 52nd Banff International Conference on Behavioural Science topic was School Mental Health: Utilizing Science, Culture, and Context to Inform Practice. It aimed to highlight both the challenges and opportunities in school mental health, with an emphasis on identifying practical strategies for mental health professionals, educators and administrators, and researchers.
CHART lab members Judy Wu and Julia Kaufmann attended the conference and presented five posters that covered various topics related to youth mental health and well-being, such as eco-anxiety, mental health literacy, the impacts of COVID-19, and school belonging, all using YDI data!
The posters featured contributions from many members of the CHART lab team—Dr. Hasina Samji, Dr. Jacqueline Maloney, Dr. David Long, Dr. Jenna Whitehead, Jillian Herring, Rachel Correia, and Mari del Casal. The conference was an opportunity to learn about all the ways researchers across Canada and the US are promoting youth mental health and well-being, as well as showcase some key mental health findings from the YDI.
Kavli Frontiers of Science Symposium
Irvine, California | March 2 – 4, 2023
CHART Lab director Dr. Hasina Samji presented The “Wicked” Challenge of Worsening Youth Mental Health – Pandemic Impacts and Beyond at the 33rd Kavli Frontiers of Science U.S. Symposium in Irvine, California. Her presentation illuminated the impact of COVID-19 on youth mental health using both data from the YDI and other sources. She discussed protective and risk factors for youth mental health and highlighted the importance of taking a public mental health approach to prevent worsening mental health outcomes in adolescence.
