Mental health disorders among children with special health needs: A population-based cohort study using linked administrative data from Manitoba, Canada.

Objective: An estimated 15-22% of Canadian kindergarten-age children have a special health need (SHN), defined as a clinical diagnosis, a functional need requiring special accommodation at school, or a health condition leading to increased needs. Children with SHN may be more likely to experience mental health disorders than their peers without SHN, placing them at risk for further health and academic challenges. Our objective was to determine the odds of children with SHN identified in kindergarten being diagnosed with a mental health disorder by age 16.

Mental well-being trends and school-based protective factors among adolescents in British Columbia (2015-2022): A population-based study.

Background: Adolescent mental well-being has declined in the past decade. Much research relies on administrative data and population-based research incorporating youth voices and exploring protective factors for mental well-being is scarce. This study examined trends in adolescent mental well-being from 2015 to 2022 in British Columbia (BC), Canada.

Residential exposure to noise, green space, and children's language acquisition.

Background: Noise pollution has been linked to impaired development in a variety of language-related skills in laboratory settings. While studies have focused on school environments, residential noise exposure's impact remains underexplored.

Methods: We used multilevel regression models to examine the association between noise exposure measured using deterministic noise modelling and language development in kindergarten-aged children in Vancouver, Canada, between April 1, 2000 and December 31, 2005, measured through a questionnaire completed by kindergarten teachers (the Early Development Instrument).

Variations in Conduct, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Mood and Anxiety Disorders Among Children and Youth from Immigrant, Refugee, and Non-Immigrant Backgrounds in British Columbia, Canada: A Population-Based Study.

Despite growing attention to child and youth mental health, knowledge gaps exist related to how mental disorders vary for children and youth from diverse backgrounds. The purpose of the present study was to investigate how conduct, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and mood/anxiety diagnoses varied by immigrant, refugee, and non-immigrant background in British Columbia, Canada. The study utilized population-based, linked administrative data for nearly half a million children and youth (N = 470,464) between 1996 and 2016 (ages 3 to 19) to examine variations in mental disorder diagnosis (defined via administrative health data records) by immigrant generation and admission category (economic, family, refugee) and the predictive/moderating effects of key socio-demographic factors (e.

Prevalence Trends and Patterns of Perinatal ADHD Stimulant Medication Use in British Columbia, Canada.

Purpose: Given the increase in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) diagnoses and stimulant medication use among female adults, this study describes the prevalence trends of perinatal ADHD stimulant medication use in British Columbia, Canada, along with characteristics and patterns of use.

Methods: Using linked population-based administrative data, we included all pregnant people with deliveries between January 2000 and December 2021. ADHD stimulant medication use was defined as filled prescriptions for dextro-/amphetamine, methylphenidate, or lisdexamfetamine.

Prenatal depression and child developmental vulnerability.

Background: Prenatal depression is a potentially important fetal exposure as it may alter fetal development and have lasting effects.

Methods: We examined all live births from 2001 to 2012 in British Columbia with follow-up data on the Early Development Instrument (EDI) in Kindergarten. The odds of developmental vulnerability on EDI domains among those with and without depression during pregnancy were estimated.

Childhood poverty, social support, immigration background and adolescent health and life satisfaction: A population-based longitudinal study.

Objectives: This study examined whether poverty (neighborhood and household) was associated with future health or life satisfaction outcomes and whether the association operated through social support (adult support at home, adult support at school, peer belonging), or differed by the immigration background (nonimmigrant family or immigrant family) of the family.

Methods: This study utilized a retrospective, longitudinal, population-based cohort that included self-reported survey data from the Middle Years Development Instrument (MDI) completed by children at age 9 and age 12, linked to administrative records. Participants included 5906 children in British Columbia, Canada.

Changes in peer belonging, school climate, and the emotional health of immigrant, refugee, and non-immigrant early adolescents.

Introduction: Early adolescents who are new to Canada experience dual challenges of navigating developmental changes and multiple cultures. This study examined how changes in early adolescents' emotional health from ages 9 to 12 differed by immigration background, and to what extent peer belonging and supportive school climate protected or promoted their emotional health.

Methods: This study drew upon linked self-report and administrative data.

Neighbourhood-level socioeconomic status and prevalence of teacher-reported health disorders among Canadian kindergarten children.

Background: The evidence on the association between neighborhood-level socioeconomic status (SES) and health disorders in young children is scarce. This study examined the prevalence of health disorders in Canadian kindergarten (5-6 years old) children in relation to neighborhood SES in 12/13 Canadian jurisdictions.

Methods: Data on child development at school entry for an eligible 1,372,980 children out of the total population of 1,435,428 children from 2004 to 2020, collected using the Early Development Instrument (EDI), were linked with neighborhood sociodemographic data from the 2006 Canadian Census and the 2005 Taxfiler for 2,058 neighborhoods.

Childhood poverty and school readiness: Differences by poverty type and immigration background.

Objectives: Poverty exposes children to adverse conditions that negatively impact development. However, there is limited understanding on how different types of poverty may affect children of various immigration backgrounds differently in outcomes such as school readiness. This study examined these relationships between household and/or neighbourhood poverty, poverty timing, and immigration background with school readiness outcomes at kindergarten.

Connections matter: Adolescent social connectedness profiles and mental well-being over time.

Introduction: This study examined profiles of social connectedness among early adolescents in grade 7 before the COVID-19 pandemic was declared (Winter 2020), and in grade 8 during the second Wave of the pandemic (Winter 2021).

Method: Linked data from 1753 early adolescents (49% female) from British Columbia, Canada who completed the Middle Years Development Instrument survey in grades 7 and 8 were used. Participants reported on life satisfaction, depressive symptoms, and connectedness with peers and adults at home, school and in the community.

Teacher mental health and workplace well-being in a global crisis: Learning from the challenges and supports identified by teachers one year into the COVID-19 pandemic in British Columbia, Canada.

The COVID-19 pandemic and related school disruptions have led to increased concerns for the mental health of teachers. This study investigated how the challenges and systemic supports perceived by teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic were associated with their mental health and workplace well-being. This cross-sectional, survey-based study was conducted in February 2021, just prior to the third wave of the pandemic in British Columbia (BC), Canada (N = 1,276).

Over-reaching with causality language in neurodevelopmental infant research: A methodological literature review.

Background: A methodological review of 78 empirical articles focusing on the neurodevelopmental outcomes of at-risk infants was conducted.

Aims: To examine ways language and terminology are used to describe methods, present results, and/or state conclusions in studies published during 1994-2005, a decade reflecting major advances in neurodevelopmental research and in medical intervention. More specifically, to investigate to what extent the design of the study and the language in the results section aligned in regard to causality.

A cross-sectional study of organized activity participation and emotional wellbeing among non-immigrant and immigrant-origin children in British Columbia, Canada.

Organized activity participation has been linked to children's emotional wellbeing. However, a scarcity of literature considers the role of immigrant background. This study's primary objective was to measure the association between organized activity participation and emotional wellbeing among a population-based sample of Grade 7 children in British Columbia, Canada.

Access to mental health support, unmet need and preferences among adolescents during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has had widespread effects on adolescent mental health. However, little is known about support-seeking, unmet need and preferences for mental health care among adolescents.

Methods: The Youth Development Instrument (YDI) is a school-administered survey of adolescents (N = 1928, mean age = 17.

Association between social jetlag and sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) in adolescents in Western Canada.

Background: Sleep debt is linked to poor health behaviours, and adolescents may be especially vulnerable to deficit from the mismatch of their late chronotype with socially determined sleep timing. We aimed to investigate the potential association between social jetlag and sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) consumption among adolescents.

Methods: Cross-sectional data from 1031 adolescents (13-18 years) who participated in the population-based British Columbia Adolescent Substance Use Survey in 2012.

A study protocol for community implementation of a new mental health monitoring system spanning early childhood to young adulthood.

Findings from longitudinal research, globally, repeatedly emphasise the importance of taking an early life course approach to mental health promotion; one that invests in the formative years of development, from early childhood to young adulthood, just prior to the transition to parenthood for most. While population monitoring systems have been developed for this period, they are typically designed for use within discrete stages (i.e.

Risk of Diagnosed Adolescent-Onset Non-Affective Psychotic Disorder by Migration Background in British Columbia: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

Objective: We recently found that the risk of diagnosed non-affective psychotic disorder between the ages of 13 and 19 was lower for immigrant adolescents compared to those without a personal or parental migration history in British Columbia (BC), Canada. In the current study, we further examined the risk for migrants compared to non-migrants by region of origin and immigrant generation (first vs. second), adjusting for several demographic factors and migration class.

Neighbourhood context and diagnosed mental health conditions among immigrant and non-immigrant youth: a population-based cohort study in British Columbia, Canada.

Purpose: Evidence from systematic reviews suggests that adult immigrants living in areas of higher immigrant density (areas with a higher proportion of foreign-born residents) tend to experience fewer mental health problems-likely through less discrimination, greater access to culturally/linguistically appropriate services, and greater social support. Less is known about how such contexts are associated with mental health during childhood-a key period in the onset and development of many mental health challenges. This study examined associations between neighbourhood immigrant density and youth mental health conditions in British Columbia (BC; Canada).

Early Adolescents' Experiences During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Changes in Their Well-Being.

Background: Early adolescence is a time of psychological and social change that can coincide with declines in mental health and well-being. This study investigated the psychological and social impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic from the perspective of students who responded to a survey in Grades 7 and 8 (ages 12-14) in British Columbia (BC), Canada. The objectives of this study were (i) to provide an overview on early adolescents' experiences and social-emotional well-being during the pandemic; and (ii) to examine whether changes in social experiences as well as feeling safe from getting COVID-19 at school were associated with changes in well-being outcomes over the course of a year.

Developmental profiles of children at risk for autism spectrum disorder at school entry.

Functional abilities in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are highly heterogenous, and impairments can overlap with non-ASD neurodevelopmental disorders. We compared the profiles of children assessed for ASD with and without an ASD diagnosis using a retrospective cohort study of 101,739 children born in British Columbia (2000-2008). The children were grouped into the following five comparison groups: (1) ASD- (n = 1131), (2) ASD+ (n = 1583), (3) Ministry of Education designated ASD+ (n = 654), (4) special need other than ASD (n = 11,663), and (5) typically developing (n = 86,708).

The influence of early-life residential exposure to different vegetation types and paved surfaces on early childhood development: A population-based birth cohort study.

Background: Growing evidence suggests that exposure to green space is associated with improved childhood health and development, but the influence of different green space types remains relatively unexplored. In the present study, we investigated the association between early-life residential exposure to vegetation and early childhood development and evaluated whether associations differed according to land cover types, including paved land.

Methods: Early childhood development was assessed via kindergarten teacher-ratings on the Early Development Instrument (EDI) in a large population-based birth cohort (n = 27,539) in Metro Vancouver, Canada.

Population-Based Teacher-Rated Assessment of Anxiety Among Canadian Kindergarten Children.

Despite anxiety being a prevalent mental health problem in children, little data exist on the pervasiveness and levels of anxiety symptoms in kindergarteners. Data from the Early Development Instrument, a teacher-completed, population-level measure of child development, were collected across Canada from 2004 to 2015. The final analytic sample consisted of 974,319 children of whom 2.

Screen time and developmental health: results from an early childhood study in Canada.

Background: Research has shown that longer hours of screen time are negatively associated with children's healthy development. Whereas most research has focused on school-age children, less is known about this association in early childhood. To fill this gap, we examined the association between screen time and developmental health in preschool-aged children.

Prevalence of Mental Health Disorders Among Immigrant, Refugee, and Nonimmigrant Children and Youth in British Columbia, Canada.

Importance: There remains limited understanding of population-level patterns of mental disorder prevalence for first- and second-generation immigrant and refugee children and youth and how such patterns may vary across mental disorders.

Objective: To examine the diagnostic prevalence of conduct, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and mood/anxiety disorders in immigrant, refugee, and nonimmigrant children and youth in British Columbia, Canada.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This retrospective, population-level cohort study examined linked health administrative records of children and youth in British Columbia (birth to age 19 years) spanning 2 decades (1996-2016).