We all have a role:
Building social capital among youth in care
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Presentation Outline
► Profile of youth in care
► Risks to social capital
► Sources of social capital
Family
Community
School
Peers
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BC Adolescent Health Survey
2013 BC Adolescent Health Survey
▪ 29, 832 surveys were completed
▪ 1, 645 classrooms
▪ 56 school districts
▪ 325 PHNs and nursing students
Over 1,000 had ever been in government care and over
300 were currently in a group home, foster home or on
a Youth Agreement
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Profile of Youth in Care
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Profile of Youth in Care
▪ Aboriginal youth were overrepresented
▪ 24% born outside Canada
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Profile of Youth in Care
▪ Most youth were
from urban areas
▪ More likely to be a
caretaker
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Risks to Social Capital
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Housing instability
▪ Living without adults or alone linked to reduced social
capital
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Poverty
▪ More likely than peers to:
– go to bed hungry
– miss out on activities
▪ Improvements from previous years
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Victimization
▪ More likely to have been teased, excluded, assaulted
and cyberbullied
▪ More likely to have been abused and harassed
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Health and disabilities
▪ More likely to have physical disability
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Mental health
▪ More likely to have mental or
emotional condition
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Mental health
▪ Higher rates of
– Extreme stress
– Despair
– Self-harm
– Considered
suicide
– Attempted suicide
– Missing out on
services
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Sources of Social Capital
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Family
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Family connectedness
▪ Family connectedness was linked to:
– Better mental health
– Lower rates of risky substance use
– School life
▪ Strongly linked to post secondary for older
youth
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Supportive adult in family
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Linking family social capital
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Community
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Helpful adult support
▪ Benefits of local adults who care
– Particularly for males and those living on a Youth Agreement
or aging out of care
▪ Adults who were helpful
– Linked to improved mental health and future educational
aspirations
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Community Engagement
▪ Participation in activities
▪ Meaningful activities
▪ Valued within activities
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Neighbourhood and community
▪ Neighbourhood
safety
– Lower rates of stress
and despair
– More likely to rate
health as
good/excellent
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Linking community social capital
▪ Greater breadth of community social capital
associated with better mental health
– Caring adult and being engaged in meaningful
activities linked to post-secondary
– Feeling like a part of the community linked to lower
rates of heavy sessional drinking
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School
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Positive relationships with teachers
– Helpful teachers linked to better mental health and positive
future aspirations
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Positive relationships with school staff
▪ Linked to:
– Not skipping school
– Lower rates of risky substance
use
– Better mental health
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Positive school environment
▪ School safety linked to positive mental health
▪ And post secondary plans
▪ Positive peer relationships also linked to better
outcomes
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Linking school social capital
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Peers
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Peers
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Romantic relationships
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Prosocial friends
Upset if
arrested
Less likely to
have been in
custody
Upset if used
marijuana
Less likely to
have used in
past month
Upset if
dropped out
More
connected to
school
Upset if drank
alcohol
Less likely to
have used in
past month
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Linking peer social capital
▪ 3 or more friends
– Better mental health
▪ Having friends with prosocial
attitudes:
– Positive educational aspirations
▪ Prosocial friends were the
only type of peer social
capital linked to lower
alcohol consumption
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Social Capital Across
Domains
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Summary
▪ Youth who enter the care system are dealing with
significant challenges
▪ Positive relationships in community, schools and
with family and friends are linked to better health
outcomes
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For more information
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