Civic engagement, including activities like volunteering, is generally associated with positive developmental outcomes in youth (e.g., sense of belonging), but its associations with mental health remains uncertain. This systematic review explored longitudinal associations between youth civic engagement and mental health. A systematic search of MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and EMBASE was conducted for studies up to November 14, 2024. This review included English peer-reviewed longitudinal studies involving youth aged 15–30 that examined civic engagement and mental health. Risk of bias was assessed with the Newcastle–Ottawa Quality Assessment tool. Thirteen articles were included for this review. Volunteering was the most studied civic activity (n = 5), with depressive symptoms (n = 12) as the primary mental health outcome. Narrative synthesis suggests mixed findings: volunteering was typically associated to positive mental health outcomes, while political behaviors and voting, showed mixed or null associations. Youth with better mental health were more likely to engage in civic activities, though some studies found no significant association. These findings highlight the complex association between civic engagement and mental health, underscoring the need for further exploration of this bidirectional relationship and the importance of creating resources and supportive environments to help youth navigate and cope with negative civic experiences.

INTRODUCTION:Civic engagement is common in youth, yet its longitudinal association with mental health remains understudied. This study aims to document bidirectional associations between civic engagement, depressive symptoms, and suicidality at 20 and 23. METHODS:We included 1451 participants born in 1997/98 from the Québec Longitudinal Study of Child Development in Canada. At 20 and 23, youth self-reported their engagement in five types of civic activities, namely political engagement, volunteering, activism, charitable actions, community involvement, depressive symptoms, and suicidality. Cross-lagged path models adjusted for sex and parental socioeconomic status were used to test associations between civic engagement and mental health outcomes. RESULTS:Concurrently, individuals who engaged in political engagement and activism were more likely to experience increases in depressive symptoms and suicidality at 20, while those who engaged in volunteering tended to report fewer depressive symptoms. At 23, political engagement remained positively associated with depressive symptoms. Longitudinal analyses revealed that individuals who engaged in activism at 20 were more likely to experience increases in depressive symptoms over time (β = 0.17) and those who participated in charitable actions (β = -0.14) and volunteering (β = -0.11) at 20 tended to report fewer depressive symptoms at 23, though these associations were not independent. Mental health at 20 was not associated to later civic engagement. CONCLUSIONS:Types of civic engagement were differentially associated with later depressive symptoms, but not suicidality. Further research is needed to clarify the mechanisms underlying these associations, including the potential role of engagement frequencies, motivations, and contextual factors.

This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to describe Canadian youth mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on changes in anxiety and depressive symptoms and suicidality. We searched four databases up to February 2023 for longitudinal or repeated cross-sectional studies reporting on changes in depressive and anxiety symptoms, suicidality, or related services utilization among young people under 25 years old residing in Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic. Random-effects meta-analyses were performed for studies comparing depressive and anxiety symptoms from before to during the first, second, and third COVID-19 waves (up to June 2021), and between COVID-19 waves. Other studies were described narratively. Risk of bias was assessed using an adapted Joanna Briggs Institute Checklist. Of the 7916 records screened, 35 articles met inclusion criteria for this review. Included studies were highly heterogeneous in design, population, and type of change investigated, and many had a high risk of bias. The meta-analyses found that depressive symptoms worsened minimally from pre-pandemic to wave 1 but returned to pre-pandemic levels by wave 2. Anxiety symptoms were broadly comparable from pre-pandemic to waves 1 and 2 but worsened from waves 1 to 3 and from pre-pandemic to wave 1 for girls. The narrative review included several studies that provided inconclusive evidence of increases in services utilization. The current evidence is limited and highly heterogeneous, making it insufficient to draw definitive conclusions regarding the short- to medium-term impact of the pandemic on youth mental health in Canada. Obtaining better mental health surveillance among Canadian youth is imperative.

Gambling helplines have progressed to offer support and brief interventions for both the problem gambler (PG) and their spouse/cohabitant (S/C). S/Cs play an important role in assisting their partner with their recovery from a gambling disorder. However, few studies have investigated the concerns of both PGs and S/Cs who contact gambling helplines. The purpose of this study is to examine the reasons, gambling activities, and gambling locations/venues endorsed by PGs and S/Cs who contacted a state-wide gambling helpline. 938 individuals (809 PGs; 129 S/Cs) from the state of Florida contacted the Florida Council on Compulsive Gambling helpline to discuss gambling-related concerns. Helpline contacts (calls, texts, e-mails, and live chat interactions) between the period of July 1st, 2019, to June 30th, 2020, were examined. Callers/contacts provided information related to their demographic characteristics, the precipitating event leading to contact, the PG's primary gambling activity, and venue most often used by the PG. Chi-square tests were utilized to examine relationships and gender differences between PGs and S/Cs. Significant differences were found between the precipitating events for contacting the helpline and primary gambling locations/venues identified by PGs and S/Cs. Furthermore, gender differences were observed in the primary gambling activities and gambling locations/venues endorsed by the PG and S/C. The results suggest that PGs and S/Cs held different reasons when contacting the helpline. Future research should delve deeper into these disparities in order to build intervention programs tailored to the needs of both PGs and their S/Cs.

Objectives: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are related to the development of a range of mental health problems and risky behaviors. Generally, adolescents who experienced a greater number of ACEs have been found to be at increased risk of substance use behaviors. This study investigated the association between ACEs and substance use (i.e., cigarette smoking, binge drinking, and cannabis use) as mediated by perceptions of harm and perceived peer and parental attitudes towards each substance.Methods: A survey was completed by 6,304 students aged 12 to 18 (M = 14.75, SD = 1.76) in Wood County, Ohio, assessing ACEs, substance use behaviors, perceptions of harm and perceived peer and parental attitudes towards each substance. Mediation models controlling for age and gender were conducted for each substance use behavior including perceptions of harm and perceived peer and parental attitudes specific to each substance.Results: Controlling for age and gender, perceptions of harm and peer attitudes towards binge drinking partially mediated the relationship between ACEs and past month binge-drinking. For past month cannabis and cigarette smoking, peer and parental attitudes, but not perceptions of harm, partially mediated the relationship between ACEs and past month engagement in these substances.Implications: Greater perceptions of harm and negative attitudes by parents or peers may be protective against substance use behaviors among youth that have experienced ACEs. Early interventions focusing on increasing perceptions of harm along with promoting negative parental and peer attitudes towards substance use could decrease rates of use among those who experienced ACEs.