This paper describes gambling problems among Ontario students in 2009 and examines the relationship between gambling problems and substance use problems, mental health problem indicators, and delinquent behaviors. Data were derived from the Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey of Ontario students in grades 7-12. Gambling problems were measured as 2 or more of 6 indicators of problem gambling. In total 2.8% of the students surveyed endorsed two or more of the problem gambling items. The odds of problem gamblers reporting mental distress was 4.2 times higher than the rest of the sample and the odds of problem gamblers reporting a suicide attempt were 17.8 times greater than the rest of the sample. In addition compared to the rest of the students, delinquent behaviors were also more common among problem gamblers, including theft (OR = 14.5), selling marijuana (OR = 19.6), gang fights (OR = 11.3) and carrying a handgun (OR = 11.2). In a multivariate analysis, substance-use problems, mental health problems, and the participation in a variety of delinquent behaviors remained significantly associated with youth problem gambling behavior. Students who report problem gambling behaviors show increased substance abuse, mental health, and delinquency/criminal problems that are similar to those seen among adult problem gamblers. The association between these problems suggests that these problems could be addressed in a unified manner.

Bullying in schools is an important social, psychological and educational problem. Research on this behaviour is available from diverse countries.1-5 Reported rates of students being bullied range from 10% to 50%.1,3,4,6 A recent Ontario study found that 20.7% of students engaged in bullying.1 Bullying behaviour is a marker for antisocial development.7 Perpetrators engage in antisocial behaviour later in life,8 and have higher levels of criminal thinking, aggression and psychopathology.3,9 More research is needed on how bullying relates to aggressive behaviours outside of school situations. Hazardous driving, including driving after drinking and drug use, and street racing, are aggressive in nature. Several characteristics of bullies are shared with hazardous drivers, e.g., being male, consuming alcohol, and engaging in other antisocial behaviours. However, no studies show how bullying relates to hazardous driving. Here, we report associations between self-reported bullying perpetration and hazardous driving in a large, representative sample of students in Canadian schools. We employed data from the 2011 Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey (OSDUHS) conducted by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (sampling design details can be found in reference 1). A subpopulation of students aged 16 or older who had a driver’s licence was selected for analyses (n=1,312). Self-reported bullying was assessed with this question: “Since September, in what way did you bully other students the most at school?” (recoded 0=no, did not bully; 1=yes, bullied). Measures of hazardous driving covered how often in the previous 12 months students reported: drinking and driving (“...have you driven a vehicle within an hour of drinking 2 or more drinks of alcohol?”), cannabis use and driving (“...have you driven a vehicle within an hour of using marijuana or hashish?”), street racing (“...have you driven a car, truck or SUV in a street race?”) and collision involvement (“...were you in a car accident involving any kind of injury to you or to another person, or damage to the vehicle, while you were driving?”) (recoded 0=no; 1=yes). Socio-demographic variables included were: sex, age, and type of driver’s licence (Ontario G1 licence, G2/full licence). Univariate and multivariate analyses were conducted using STATA software. The prevalence of self-reported bullying perpetration among adolescents was 21.3%. Bullies were significantly more likely to be younger adolescents, aged 16 or 17 years (p<0.05). Bullying behaviour was significantly (p<0.01) more common among those reporting drinking and driving (47.0%) than among those who did not drink and drive (19.5%). Other hazardous driving measures did not differ by self-reported bullying behaviour. Logistic regression analysis revealed that adolescents who reported drinking and driving had 3.69 (95% CI: 1.34-10.21, p<0.05) greater odds of self-reported bullying behaviour compared to non-drinking drivers, controlling for other hazardous driving and socio-demographic measures. These results suggest a strong relationship between drinking and driving and bullying perpetration among adolescents in Ontario. However, other hazardous driving behaviours did not show an association with self-reported bullying. Further research should examine a variety of delinquent and criminal activities among bullies, especially those involving alcohol consumption.

Progress in assessing the impact of specific policies on the drinking driving problem, and advances in valuing the avoidable costs that result from alcohol-related problems suggest that estimating the impact of policies can be determined with a precision that has not previously been possible. Using research-based estimates of the effects of drinking driving policies in Ontario and elsewhere, we estimate their impact in terms of deaths, injuries, and collisions prevented and costs saved. Estimating these benefits required three steps: 1) reviews of studies to estimate the impact of successful drinking driving policies in Ontario (legal limit (per se) law, raising drinking age from 18 to 19 years, remedial measures, RIDE spot-check program, graduated licensing, administrative licence suspensions, and maintaining the public monopoly on alcohol sales); 2) calculation of lprevention benefitsr to estimate the numbers of deaths, injuries, and collisions prevented; and 3) application of monetary values derived from two methods (human capital n discounted future earnings, willingness to pay) to estimate costs averted. We estimated the total deaths, injuries, and collisions prevented and costs averted for each policy from the year of its introduction to 2006. Between 1970 and 2006, drinking driving policies and programs prevented an estimated total of 4,887 deaths, 178,238 injuries and 132,182 property damage only collisions in Ontario, and total costs averted were estimated at CAN$8.5 Billion (human capital n discounted future earnings method) or CAN$78 Billion (willingness to pay method). These results suggest that drinking driving policies have been of substantial cumulative value to society in preventing deaths, injuries, collisions, and monetary costs.

Video game playing has become a very popular activity among adolescents. Its impact on the mental health and well-being of players is just beginning to be explored. This paper reports on the prevalence of problematic gaming in a representative sample of 2,832 Ontario students in grades 7 to 12. The survey included questions about the school grade, family and school related problems, frequency of video game playing and video game related problems as measured by the Problem Video Game Playing scale (PVP). Most of the students (85 %) reported playing video games in the past year and 18.3 % reported playing video games daily. Slightly less then 1 in 10 of the students (9.4 %) endorsed 5 or more of the PVP items (males 15.1 %; females 3.1 %). Further research is required to delineate the concept of excessive video game playing, its relation to other addictions, and the impact on adolescents’ psychosocial functioning.

AbstractThe objective of this study was to examine the role of school connectedness in the association between a history of family involvement with child protective services (CPS) and symptoms of psychological distress and delinquency among youth. Data were obtained from 3181 participants within the 2009 cycle of the Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey, a province-wide school-based survey of 7th–12th grade students. The survey employed a two-stage cluster design and analyses presented include adjustments for this complex sample design. Results indicated that the association between CPS involvement and psychological distress varied with school connectedness. CPS involvement was more strongly associated with psychological distress among students with low-school connectedness than students with high-school connectedness. School connectedness did not signifi cantly moderate the link between involvement with CPS and delinquency. Results suggest that improving school connectedness may be one way to protect youth with a history of family involvement with CPS and, along with effective mental health services, reduce the accumulation of risks as youth transition into adulthood.Keywords: child protective servicespsychological distressschool connectednessdelinquency

The objective of this study was to examine the associations of family, school, peer, and attitudinal factors with cannabis use among three immigrant generations of youth. The sample consisted of 3,134 students from the 2009 Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey, a provincewide survey of 7th- to 12th-grade students. Results indicate that the odds of using cannabis were lower among first-generation immigrant youth than among second as well as third and later generations. The immigrant generations were more similar than different in the significance of family, school, peers, and attitudinal factors on cannabis use. Parental education, however, was found to differ in its effect on cannabis use across generations. Findings suggest that factors that influence cannabis use may be similar across immigrant generations and that further research is needed on the effects of parental education and the mechanisms through which protection and risk to immigrant generations occur.

The objective of this study was to examine differences in psychological distress, service utilization, and prescriptions for medications between adolescents with histories of family involvement with child protective services (CPS) and adolescents without such involvement. Data on 3,497 students were obtained from the 2009 cycle of the Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey, a province-wide school-based survey of 7th to 12th graders. All analyses adjusted for the complex sample design. Results indicated that individuals who reported histories of family involvement with CPS were more likely to report elevated risk of psychological distress, had a greater number of visits to doctors and other professionals for mental health concerns, and were more likely to have been prescribed medications for depression or anxiety than individuals with no involvement with CPS. These results suggest a need for greater research on service utilization and prescription medications among individuals with histories of family involvement with CPS.

Anxiety and mood disorders (AMD) may be more common among adolescents than previously thought, and epidemiological research would benefit from an easily-administered measure of AMD. We assessed the ability of the GHQ12 to estimate the prevalence of AMD in a representative sample of Ontario adolescents. Data were based on self-administered questionnaires from 3,311 students in grades 7 through 12 derived from the 2007 Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey. The GHQ12 showed good ability to identify probable AMD (AUC = 0.80). A threshold value of 5 appeared optimal, and based on this threshold value, the estimated prevalence of AMD in Ontario students in grades 7–12 may be 19%. Observations that individuals with a self-reported history of family disruption, substance use, gambling problems, bullying victimization, and who reported seeking professional help for a mental health problem were significantly more likely to experience probable AMD provided additional validity.

Objectives: This study examined the prevalence and correlates of street racing among adolescents derived from the 2009 Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey (OSDUHS), an epidemiological survey of students in Ontario, Canada.Methods: The key response variable, self-reported street racing in past year, was examined in relation to grade level, rural/urban, school marks, cannabis use, drinking and driving, cannabis use and driving, and property, physical, drugs, and weapons delinquencies. All survey estimates were weighted, and variance and statistical tests were corrected for the complex sampling design.Results: Of the 3053 9th- to 12th-graders (66% response rate), 5.6 percent of high-schoolers (an estimated 42,000 in the province) and (20.4% of grade 11 and 12 students with an advanced-level or full license) reported driving a car, truck, or sport utility vehicle (SUV) in a street race in the 12 months before the survey. Logistic regression analysis of the advanced-level or fully licensed students in grades 11 and 12 found that males compared to females and students in grade 11 compared to students in grade 12 had significantly higher adjusted odds of street racing. Supportive of problem behavior theory, students who reported property and drug delinquencies compared to students not engaging in these delinquencies also had significantly higher adjusted odds of street racing.Conclusions: This first population-based study in North America suggested that the prevalence of street racing at 1 in 5 of advanced or fully licensed high-schoolers in grades 11 and 12 poses significant public health concerns, especially related to the potential for unintentional injury.

Objectives: Childhood maltreatment is a robust risk factor for poor physical and mental health. Child welfare youths represent a high-risk group, given the greater likelihood of severe or multiple types of maltreatment. This study examined the relationship between childhood maltreatment and self-compassion - a concept of positive acceptance of self. While not applied previously to a child welfare sample, self-compassion may be of value in understanding impairment among maltreatment victims. This may be most pertinent in adolescence and young adulthood, when self-identity is a focal developmental process.Methods: The present sample was drawn from the Maltreatment and Adolescent Pathways (MAP) Longitudinal Study, which followed randomly selected adolescents receiving child protection services across two years within an urban catchment area. Child maltreatment was assessed at baseline using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (Bernstein at al., 1994, 2003). Mental health, substance and alcohol use problems, suicide attempt, and self-compassion were assessed at the two-year follow-up point. There were 117 youths, aged 16-20 years (45.3% males) who completed the self-compassion scale (Neff, 2003). Bivariate correlations were computed between adolescent self-compassion and each form of self-reported maltreatment (physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, emotional neglect, and physical neglect). Finally, hierarchical, stepwise regression was used to examine unique contributions of child maltreatment subtypes in predicting adolescent self-compassion, as well as maltreatment-related impairment.Results: Higher childhood emotional abuse, emotional neglect, and physical abuse were associated with lower self-compassion. Controlling for age and gentler, emotional abuse was significantly associated with reduced self-compassion, even when the effects of emotional neglect and physical abuse were taken into account. Youths with low self-compassion were more likely to have psychological distress, problem alcohol use, and report a serious suicide attempt, as compared with those with high self-compassion. A number of maltreatment-related areas of impairment, identified by screening instruments, were significantly associated with lower self-compassion.Conclusion: Self-compassion may be a fruitful aspect of research to pursue in an effort to better understand the impact of childhood emotional abuse on adolescent functioning, particularly considering the under-researched group of those receiving child protective services. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Cluster analysis was used to define subpopulations of youth involved in drugs, alcohol, and gambling. Data from a 2001 cross-sectional survey of Ontario grade 7 to 13 students (N = 2,243; mean age 15 years; 51% males) were examined. The analysis suggested four clusters: Mainstreamers (66.0%), Party Goers (26.2%), Drug Takers (5.9%), and Heavy Gamblers (1.9%). This cluster structure was validated across a number of additional external variables that were not used in the original cluster analysis. The findings indicated that Drug Takers and Heavy Gamblers formed two distinct clusters. Probable pathological gamblers were found in all four clusters, but they were most concentrated in the heavy gambling cluster. The results suggest that troubled youths are not a single entity, but display heterogeneity in their configuration of risk behaviours.

Telephone interview data from a representative sample of 1,216 Ontario adults were analyzed using latent class analysis to determine whether distinct and homogeneous classes of individuals could be identified based on their responding patterns to 11 alcohol policy items. Five latent classes were identified and labeled as: dedicated liberalizers, moderate liberalizers, moderate controllers, dedicated controllers, and an ambivalent class. Multinomial regression analysis indicated that demographic and alcohol factors differentiated the classes. Those most opposed to alcohol controls, dedicated liberalizers, were more likely to be male, younger and heavier drinkers. Given their young age it is possible that further erosion of public support for alcohol controls may be expected.

OBJECTIVE To explore the prevalence and the demographic predictors of nonmedical use of opioid analgesics in the Canadian adolescent population.DESIGN Data are based on self-reports derived from the 2007 Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey, which is an anonymous, in-school, cross-sectional survey.SETTING Schools in Ontario.PARTICIPANTS A total of 2914 students in grades 7 to 12.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Demographic predictors of nonmedical use of opioid analgesics during the past year and the sources of opioid analgesics.RESULTS Students ranged in age from 12 to 19 years (mean 15.0, SD 1.9) and 52% were male. Of the students surveyed, 20.6% (95% confidence interval [CI] 18.9% to 22.3%) reported using opioid analgesics at least once nonmedically during the past year, with 6.2% using exclusively nonmedically and 14.4% using nonmedically and medically. Female students (16.6%, CI 14.1% to 19.6%) were more likely than male students (12.0%, CI 10.0% to 14.2%) to have used opioid analgesics both nonmedically and medically in the past year, although exclusive nonmedical use was similar between female (6.7%, CI 5.3% to 8.5%) and male (5.8%, CI 4.5% to 7.3%) students. Among students who reported using opioid analgesics nonmedically, 72% reported obtaining them from home and only 6% reported obtaining them from friends. Nonmedical opioid analgesic users had higher past-year prevalences for alcohol use, daily smoking, and other illicit drug use compared with nonusers.CONCLUSION Nonmedical use of opioids is common among Ontario students. The motivation for using these medications without prescriptions or without medical supervision is not known. Students might have used these medications recreationally or for pain relief. Regardless of motivation, these medications are being used without medical supervision. It is important to note that the home is the main source for opioid analgesics in the absence of a prescription. Parents should be vigilant and educate themselves and their children about these medications, ensuring that prescription opioids are stored properly and avoiding casual sharing of these medications among family members.

The study aims were to examine (i) adolescents' attitudes towards family members who use a wheelchair in relation to other health problems and conditions, and (ii) the association between perceived wheelchair stigma and socio-demographic factors. Data were based on surveys from 2790 seventh to 12th grade students derived from the 2007 cycle of the Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey. Stigmatized attitudes towards a family member who required the use of a wheelchair (5.5%) were lower than those attitudes towards a family member who was addicted to drugs (68.3%), alcohol (54.9%), or gambling (53.7%), or who had mental illness (25.9%), and similar to those attitudes for a family member with asthma (2.2%). Grade level was the only significant negative correlate of the perceived wheelchair stigma. The perceived wheelchair stigma among the adolescents may not be a significant barrier towards community integration for wheelchair users.

Stigma is a significant barrier to the improvement of the lives of people with schizophrenia. Little is known about the emergence of stigmatizing attitudes developmentally. The purpose of this study was to provide a provincial assessment of adolescent knowledge about schizophrenia and to identify the relationship between adolescent knowledge and social distance toward people with schizophrenia. Data were derived from the 2005 cycle of the Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey. In total, 3,117, 7th- to 12th-graders completed self-administered questionnaires that included a measure of schizophrenia knowledge and social distancing. Results indicated that the majority of adolescents had some knowledge about schizophrenia and low social distancing toward people with schizophrenia. Greater knowledge, increasing age, being female, and lower parental education were associated with less distancing attitudes. Educational campaigns to reduce stigma may still be warranted as one component of broader multilevel interventions to overcome mental illness stigma. (C) 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.