A major study co-authored by Dr. John Freeman, the Director of the Social Program Evaluation Group (SPEG) at the Faculty of Education, shows that mental health is a primary concern for Canadian youth.

Key findings of the study are that girls report higher levels of emotional problems and lower levels of emotional well-being and life satisfaction, and boys tend to experience more behavioural problems and demonstrate less pro-social behavior. The study emphasizes the importance of home, school, peers and local neighbourhood in the lives of young people. It also shows that the varying interpersonal relationships that arise in these four different contexts may be critical for adolescent mental health.

The study is the national report on Canadian findings from the 2009/10 cycle of the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children Study (HBSC). It provides an overview of the mental health of Canadian youth aged 11 to 15 years and its relationship with their social settings and other health topics, including healthy living, healthy weights, unintentional injuries, bullying and risky behaviours. 

Other Faculty of Education contributors to the report are Matthew King and Don Klinger and other Queen's contributors to the report are William PIckett (Community Health and Epidemiology), Ian Janssen (School of Kinesiology and Health Studies) and Wendy Craig (Psychology).  The summary and full report are available from the Public Health Agency of Canada.  For additional information and publications related to the study, see SPEG's Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children website. 

Given the findings, it is not surprising that the reporrt has received a significant amount of media attention. See:

• "MENTAL HEALTH:New research out of Queen's University," CKWS News
• "Queen's-led national study identifies mental health as a primary concern for Canada's youth," Queen's News Centre
• "Girls more likely to struggle with emotional problems than boys, study finds," Toronto Star 
• "Relationships at home, school, with peers key to teens' mental health: study," Winnipeg Free Press
• "Canadian girls more likely to have emotional problems than boys: Study," Vancouver Sun 

The study also made headlines in the Calgary Herald, Edmonton Sun, the Ottawa Citizen, the Toronto Sun, the Montreal Gazette, and many other newspapers and websites across Canada, and on QR77 (Calgary radio), CKNW (Vancouver radio), and Broadcast News (Canadian Press radio service).

Congratulations to John Freeman and the Queen's research team.