Results from the Northern Interior region of the 2023 BC Adolescent Health Survey (BC AHS) were released today by the McCreary Centre Society.
Results from the 2023 BC Adolescent Health Survey (BC AHS) for the Northern Interior region were released Wednesday by the McCreary Centre Association.
The state survey results, released in February, showed an overall decrease in drug use among public school students in grades 7-12.
Comparing the region’s findings to those across the province, Dr. Annie Smith, executive director of the McCleary Centres Association and co-author of the Northern Interior report, explained, “We’ve been doing research for 30 years and we know that historically, rates of alcohol and other drug use in this region have always been higher than areas such as Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland. Our latest research was no exception, but smoking and drinking among young people in the Northern Interior has decreased over the past five years. Those who have ever drunk alcohol dropped from 55% to 51%, and those who have ever smoked dropped from one in four to one in five.”
“Statewide, we’ve seen worrying trends where young people are starting to use drugs less, but those who do are starting to use drugs at a younger age. Not only is this concerning from a developmental perspective, we know it also increases the likelihood that young people will struggle with drug use problems later in life, so we’re pleased to see that young people in our region are not following the state’s trends with regards to early marijuana use.”
Not all results are positive in the Inland North, with an increase in young people reporting mental health issues and experiencing bereavement due to drug overdose (12% vs. 6% in 2018). Almost one in five young people (21%) in the Inland North had not accessed the mental health services they needed in the past year, with non-binary young people being the least likely to access them (45% of women and 12% of men).
Reflecting on these findings, Smith said: “We have seen a sharp increase in young people reporting mental illnesses, including anxiety disorders and PTSD. It is disturbing that young people in our area are more likely than pre-COVID to say they did not receive the mental health services they needed. It is also disturbing that local young people are roughly twice as likely as five years ago to cite lack of acceptance from parents/guardians and being on waiting lists as reasons for not receiving this type of care.”
“When we asked young people in our community where they go when they need reliable health information, we found that they most commonly turn to their family for that information. These results show that as adults, we need to feel more comfortable talking to young people about mental health and listen when they reach out for help.”
The 2023 BC AHS was completed by 38,488 BC students ages 12-19 in spring 2023. This was the seventh time the survey has been administered since 1992. The report is one of 16 regional reports on BC AHS results, sharing data provided by students in grades 7-12 in the Northern Interior Health Service Delivery Area (HSDA).
The Northern Interior HSDA is comprised of three school districts: Quesnel (SD 28), Prince George (SD 57), and Nechako Lakes (SD 91). All school districts in the region have participated in the BC AHS since 2013 and have participated in all six waves of the survey. The HSDA also includes students from the Columbia Britannique French School Association (SD 93).
Key findings for the Northern Inland:
Students in the Northern Interior remain more likely to identify as European or Indigenous than their peers across British Columbia. But the region is becoming more diverse, with more young people born overseas and more identifying as gender and sexual minorities. Regional survey results also show:
- Compared to previous survey years, local young people are more likely to be living with their fathers/stepfathers, grandparents or other adult relatives, and there are also more who have caregiving responsibilities for relatives (26% vs. 22% in 2018) and who do not have a quiet place to sleep (4% vs. 2% in 2018).
- In the past 12 months, 8% of youth had eaten less or skipped meals because of lack of money for food, and 12% had gone to bed hungry at least sometimes for this reason. The share of youth who skip breakfast on the school day was higher than five years ago (32% vs. 20% in 2018) and higher than the provincial share in 2023 (29%). Local youth were also more likely to eat breakfast at school than youth overall in British Columbia (13% vs. 6%).
- “Similar to the situation statewide, young people in this region report poorer mental health than their peers five years ago. For example, they were less likely to rate their mental health as good or very good (71% vs. 57% in 2018) and less likely to feel quite or very hopeful about the future (68% vs. 61%).”
- Compared to the province as a whole, local youth are less likely to receive care from a family doctor (49% compared to 54% across BC), but more likely to receive care from walk-in clinics (24% compared to 32%) and foundries (2% compared to 3%).
- Youth in the Northern Interior are more likely to have had sex and less likely to report receiving sex education in school than young people across the province (74% vs. 80% across B.C.), and there has also been an increase locally in students using abortion as their only form of contraception (10% vs. 6% in 2018).
- For students in our region, feeling connected and supported is linked to more positive health and well-being. Connectedness to school, community and family is declining locally and across the province. However, local youth remain more likely than youth across BC overall to feel they have adults in their neighbourhood or community who care about them (79% vs. 73%).
