Teens across the central Island may have fewer connections, but the bonds are typically stronger since the pandemic, according to a new survey of youth aged 12 to 19. (Dreamstime)

By Alex Rawnsley

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NANAIMO — Local teens are sleeping less, feeling worse about their physical and mental health, but have a better support network on average compared to five years ago.

The B.C. Adolescent Health Survey was published Thursday, July 25 by the McCreary Centre Society, looking at patterns and living conditions for youth aged 12 to 19 living on central Vancouver Island.

Annie Smith, the Society’s executive director, told NanaimoNewsNOW the survey is done in partnership with local school districts, while questions themselves are asked by public health nurses.

“They trust nurses to keep the information confidential, it asks some quite personal questions and youth have told us that they believe they can answer those questions because it’s a nurse administering it…they maybe wouldn’t do if it was a teacher or someone from a university.”

Survey results found just 41 per cent of youth were getting at least eight hours of sleep per night, compared to a reported 50 per cent in 2018 and 55 per cent in 2013.

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Nearly one in three said they’d missed school in the past month because of sleeping in.

Those changes in sleep patterns were also reflected in participants overall rating of their mental and physical health.

Fifty-six per cent said their mental health was good or excellent, down significantly from 69 per cent in 2018 and 80 per cent in 2013.

Smith said a number of questions focused on substance use, with connections to mental and physical health.

Cannabis use was down from 33 per cent to 29 per cent despite a change in federal policy.

“The last survey was completed just as cannabis became legalized for adults, so we really wanted to look at a federal level to see if that’s making any difference to cannabis use among young people.”

Data showed youth on the central Island were more likely to use vape, compared to elsewhere in B.C. (32 per cent vs 26 per cent).

Results of the survey are offered to local school districts and used by senior government to help form policy decisions.

The raw numbers are also then presented to youth in the age bracket to help contextualize and provide the “why” behind the data.

“A survey is fantastic for giving you numbers, but it’s not great in telling you the why behind those numbers. We work with young people around what’s going on in school, why are so many young people skipping school, why aren’t young people getting eight hours of sleep.”

Positive trends identified in the survey included a notable increase in youth having supportive adults in their lives, with 76 per cent saying they had an adult in their family they could go to with a serious problem.

Smith said while COVID affected some social relationships, leading to youth reporting fewer friends or connections, the strength of the remaining links was still very strong.

“If a young person has somebody to turn to, to help them with homework, they’re more likely to be planning to go into post-secondary…so it’s connections at that real small level. If they feel like they’re part of their school, again we see them more likely [to attend post-secondary].”

Responses also indicated more Indigenous youth are speaking more of their Indigenous language, with 37 per cent able to speak at least a few words in 2023 compared to just 10 per cent a decade prior.

Results also suggested diversity has increased locally in the last five years, with more born abroad or identifying as a sexual or gender minority than in previous studies.

Rates of both oral sex and sexual intercourse dropped among youth on the central Island over the last five years, with around 22 per cent of respondents saying they were sexually active.

The full survey results are available on the Society’s website.

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