Social supports and spirituality

Personal relationships with family and friends have a strong impact on young people’s physical and emotional health. Young people tend to turn to their peers for support in times of need, and as they grow up, these relationships take on more prominence in their lives.⁵ According to an international study using the Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children survey, young people who are not socially well integrated are far more likely to manifest physical and mental health problems. The study found that students who had good friends in whom they could confide and with whom they could share activities were more likely to have confidence in themselves, to be well-adjusted at school, and to get along with their parents.

Research from the 1996 National Population Health Survey indicates that the majority of children and youth in Canada feel that they have someone to count on in times of crisis or when they need to make important decisions. However, recent young immigrants are less likely to say that they have someone in whom they can confide. This may be because it takes time to develop close friendships and those that they had developed earlier were left behind when they immigrated.

Young people also find social support through involvement with voluntary organizations or through their religious affiliations. Both immigrant and non-immigrant children and youth are involved in voluntary organizations in Canada, but immigrant youth tend to be more active in religious organizations, compared to the Canadian-born young people. And recent immigrant youth attach greater importance to religion – nearly three-quarters of them say that religion or spirituality plays an important role in their lives. By comparison, just over half of Canadian-born youth say the same. As the time they reside in Canada grows, young people’s focus on religion tends to decline. Only nine per cent of Canadian-born youth describe themselves as very religious, compared to16 per cent of youth who have lived in Canada for 10 years or more, and 22 per cent of those who have been in the country for less than 10 years.

More than one-third (35%) of recent immigrant children and youth attend religious services at least once a week. In contrast, 23 per cent of young people who have been in Canada for 10 years or more attend religious services weekly, as do 16 per cent of Canadian-born youth. For most recent immigrants, religious organizations help them to establish a social network, and many churches offer activities for children and youth, with some even offering services in languages other than English or French.

Recent immigrant youth are less likely to use tobacco or alcohol

Smoking rates among young people are high and have been growing in recent years in Canada,⁶ presenting a significant health risk to this group. In addition, the majority of Canadian youth aged 15 to 24 also drink alcohol occasionally or regularly.⁷ Immigrant youth are less likely to smoke or drink than Canadian-born youth. However, as they adapt to Canadian society, immigrant youth begin to adopt the same patterns of alcohol and tobacco use as their Canadian-born peers. Over one in 10 youth aged 12 to 24 who had been in Canada for less than 10 years smoke, but these figures increase to nearly three in 10 for Canadian-born youth.

The trend towards alcohol consumption is similar to that of smoking. Alcohol use is most prevalent among Canadian-born youth, followed by young immigrants who have lived in Canada for 10 years or more. Young immigrants who have lived in Canada for less than 10 years are the least likely to drink. Among youth who drink alcohol, Canadian-born youth are more likely to drink regularly than are immigrant youth, and Canadian-born youth are more likely to drink more heavily. In 1996, six in 10 Canadian-born youth reported that they had had at least one heavy drinking episode in the previous year – consuming five or more drinks at one sitting. This compares to only three in 10 among immigrant youth.

Young people’s smoking and drinking behaviour is often influenced by their peers. Many immigrant youth probably do not have many friends or acquaintances who smoke or drink, but as they become more integrated into Canadian society, they are more likely to adapt to the lifestyles and habits of the local youth. They will also have more friends who smoke or drink. More than one-third of immigrant youth have no friends or acquaintances who smoke, compared to 20 per cent of youth born in Canada. One in five Canadian-born youth say that almost all of the people with whom they socialize are smokers. Only one in 10 immigrant youth make this claim. Among foreign-born high school students, research shows that the probability of alcohol use increases along with the number of years that they have lived in Canada.⁸ Compared to recent immigrant youth, Canadian-born youth and immigrant teens who have been in Canada for more than 10 years are more likely to have friends or acquaintances who drink too much.

Immigrant youth are less likely to combine work and school

Completing high school is critically important in today’s knowledge- and technology-based economy. It is a key to reducing unemployment. A young adult’s ability to find work and achieve an independent lifestyle is strongly linked to their education and skills.

Immigrant youth aged 15 to 19 are just as likely as Canadian-born youth to stay in school. However, immigrants aged 20 to 24 are more likely to be in school than are their Canadian-born peers. Only 37 per cent of Canadian-born youth aged 20 to 24 are currently attending school, compared to 54 per cent of immigrants in this age group who have been in Canada for less than 10 years and 50 per cent of immigrant youth who have been in Canada for 10 years or more.

Combining school and work is far more prevalent among Canadian-born youth aged 15 to 19 than it is among recent immigrants of that age. More than half of Canadian-born teens hold a job while going to school full-time or part-time, compared to one-quarter of immigrant teens who have lived in Canada for less than 10 years.

The pattern is similar for youth aged 20 to 24. Among this group, 79 per cent of Canadian-born students and 80 per cent of foreign-born students who have been in Canada for 10 years or more work while continuing to study full-time or part-time, but less than half of those who have been in Canada for less than 10 years do so. Again, these differences in lifestyle behaviours converge as foreign-born youth become more integrated into their new country.