On Wednesday, February 21, 2024 The McCreary Centre Society released the newest iteration of the BC Adolescent Health Survey. The survey was taken in 2023 by 38,500 public school students from Grade 7 to Grade 12. Conducted every five years since 1992, this invaluable research tool provides data about mental health, alcohol and drug consumption, sexual activity and other topics of concern for youth.
February 22, 2024
An article in The Globe and Mail gives examples of some of the most recent trends: "The survey results show there has been a decrease over the past 30 years in the percentage of youth who had ever smoked tobacco. In 2023, 15 per cent had smoked tobacco, compared to 21 per cent a decade ago, 34 per cent two decades ago and 60 per cent in 1992... A similar pattern was found in alcohol consumption."
But more recently, "compared to five years ago, there was a slight increase in youth who tried cannabis for the first time at age 12 or younger, and a decrease in the percentage who waited until they were 15 or older to try it."
According to Dr. Elizabeth Saewyc, research director for the BC Adolescent Health Survey project team, the legalization of cannabis has not been the impetus for the trend toward an earlier age of first-time users. Pointing to the similar results in the report in relation to alcohol and tobacco, she notes, “These two have been legal for much longer than cannabis (although still not legal for adolescents). If this change were due to cannabis legalization, it should only show up as a trend for cannabis, not for both alcohol or tobacco.”
The survey results also indicated that youth were less likely to have engaged in sexual activity, reported poorer mental health, indicated more cases of self-harm and were less hopeful for their future than teens were five years ago. They also sleep less, feel less safe at school, are less likely to feel connected to their school and community, and are less likely to have in-person friends.
The survey results contain a wealth of data that researchers will tap into to provide further insights on teen health trends for years to come.