More than half of Richmond’s students get less than the prescribed eight hours of sleep every night. And more than 80 per cent of the city’s Grade 7 to 12s were online or on their phones when their parents thought they were asleep.
This is just a snapshot of the findings of the BC Adolescent Health Survey, carried out by the Vancouver-based McCreary Centre Society — a non-profit organization committed to improving the health of youth.
On the plus side, the number of Richmond youth willing to get behind the wheel of a car after drinking alcohol has dropped from 13 per cent in 2008 to three per cent in 2013.
In total, 1,750 Richmond students from Grade 7-12 were asked 130 questions between February and June last year about their perceptions of their current physical and emotional health, as well as risky behaviours and health promoting practices.
Almost 30,000 students from the same age bracket took part in the survey province-wide. The survey was previously conducted in 1992, 1998, 2003 and 2008.
The survey results are used by federal and provincial policy makers and program planners, as well as by local decision makers.
“It is good to see Richmond youth making some safer choices around things like seatbelt use and mixing alcohol with driving,” said Annie Smith, executive director of the McCreary Centre Society.
“I think the results also show us where we need to target our efforts to make sure students are getting enough sleep and exercise.”
Other key results in Richmond included:
*Ten percent of students (five per cent of males and 14 per cent of females) reported not accessing mental health services in the past year when they thought they needed to. The most common reason was not wanting their parents to know;
*Fewer students reported going to bed hungry because there was not enough money for food at home. In 2013, six per cent went to bed hungry sometimes, compared to 11 per cent in 2008;
*Richmond students were less likely than those across the province to be sexually active;
*Less than half of Richmond students (46 per cent) slept for at least eight or more hours on the night before taking the survey;
*Eighty-seven per cent of females and 80 per cent of males were online or on their phone after they were supposed to be asleep;
*Richmond’s ethnic and cultural makeup is very different to that of the province as a whole, with half of Richmond students being of East Asian heritage (compared to 18% provincially). Local students are twice as likely as their peers across BC to speak a language other than English at home and to have a parent who works abroad;
*Consistent with provincial findings, students were less likely to rate their mental health as good or excellent than their overall health;
*There were local improvements in some injury prevention behaviours, as youth were more likely to wear a seat belt than their peers previously;
*Youth who indicated going to bed hungry at least sometimes were more likely to also report not having any food at home to eat for breakfast (12% vs. 2% of those who did not go to bed hungry);
*The percentage of youth who were overweight or obese increased from 2008 to 2013 (from 20% to 25% for males and from 8% to 15% for females), after remaining stable between 2003 and 2008;
*Only 11% of 12–17 year olds exercised for the recommended 60 minutes a day in the past week, compared to 17% provincially. Additionally, students in Richmond were more likely to have not exercised at all in the past week (14% vs. 9% across BC);
*They were also less likely to have had sex, to report an STI or to have been involved in a pregnancy than their local peers in 2008;
*The decrease in alcohol and marijuana use seen provincially was not seen in Richmond. However, Richmond rates of use remained below those across BC, and local students were waiting longer to try these substances than in 2008;
*Although the percentages of female students who experienced some forms of bullying (i.e., teasing and social exclusion) rose from 2008, both male and female students felt safer in every location at their school in 2013 than they had previously;
*Richmond students were more likely than their peers across the province to anticipate continuing their education beyond high school, such as through university, college, or trade school (89% vs. 86%);
*Students in 2013 were less likely than their peers in 2008 to report being the victims of physical assault, sexual abuse or sexual harassment;
*A number of protective factors were identified which appeared to contribute to better health outcomes and well-being for even the most vulnerable youth in Richmond. These included family, school, and community connectedness; cultural engagement; supportive and caring adults; sleep; good nutrition; and feeling listened to and valued.
