Frank J. Elgar

To report trends in rates of drunkenness, alcohol use, and drug use among Canadian adolescents. Five national school-based surveys were carried out between 1990 and 2006 as part of the Canadian Health Behaviour in School-aged Children study (n = 4504 to 7010). Students in Grades 6, 8, and 10 were surveyed about the frequency of their drunken episodes and consumption of beer, liquor, and wine. Grade 10 students were also surveyed about their use of drugs. Rates of drunkenness and alcohol use declined slightly from 1990 to 2006, but about one-half of Grade 10 students in 2006 had used cannabis at least once in their lifetime (up from one-third in 1990). Lifetime prevalence rates of using other drug substances were below 10%. Timely information on alcohol and drug use among adolescents is important to health policy. Declining trends in alcohol misuse is encouraging; however, the proliferation of cannabis use indicates a need for continued surveillance and education about the risks associated with frequent cannabis use.

Objectives. I examined the association between income inequality and population health and tested whether this association was mediated by interpersonal trust or public expenditures on health.Methods. Individual data on trust were collected from 48 641 adults in 33 countries. These data were linked to country data on income inequality, public health expenditures, healthy life expectancy, and adult mortality. Regression analyses tested for statistical mediation of the association between income inequality and population health outcomes by country differences in trust and health expenditures.Results. Income inequality correlated with country differences in trust (r = −0.51), health expenditures (r = −0.45), life expectancy (r = −0.74), and mortality (r = 0.55). Trust correlated with life expectancy (r = 0.48) and mortality (r = −0.47) and partly mediated their relations to income inequality. Health expenditures did not correlate with life expectancy and mortality, and health expenditures did not mediate links between inequality and health.Conclusions. Income inequality might contribute to short life expectancy and adult mortality in part because of societal differences in trust. Societies with low levels of trust may lack the capacity to create the kind of social supports and connections that promote health and successful aging.

Objectif: Déterminer si l’exposition des adolescents au capital social du quartier (les niveaux de confiance, de cohésion et de coopération qui y sont présents) réduit les écarts socioéconomiques dans leurs résultats de santé physique et psychologique. Méthode: Les données d’enquête ont été recueillies auprès de 9 717 jeunes Canadiens de la 6^e à la 10^e année ayant participé à l’étude «Les comportements de santé des jeunes d’âge scolaire» en 2006. L’analyse des données a porté sur les interactions entre le statut socioéconomique (SSE) et le capital social pour cinq résultats: les symptômes psychologiques, les symptômes somatiques, les blessures, les bagarres et l’appréciation de la vie. Résultats: Les effets du SSE sur ces cinq résultats sanitaires varient selon le niveau d’exposition au capital social du quartier. De hauts niveaux de capital social réduisent ou éliminent les écarts socioéconomiques en santé. Toutefois, dans les secteurs au capital social élevé, les enfants de milieux plus aisés déclarent légèrement plus de symptômes somatiques, de blessures et de bagarres que les enfants de milieux moins aisés. Conclusion: La réduction des inégalités en santé chez les enfants et les jeunes doit être une priorité publique. Nos résultats laissent entendre que le renforcement du capital social des quartiers est une façon de réduire les disparités socioéconomiques dans la santé physique et psychologique des enfants. Cependant, ces constatations indiquent qu’il peut y avoir un revers à la médaille du capital social, car il semble infirmer les écarts socioéconomiques dans certains résultats.

Background: Theories of why income inequality correlates with violence suggest that inequality erodes social capital and trust, or inhibits investment into public services and infrastructure. Past research sensed the importance of these causal paths but few have examined them using tests of statistical mediation. Methods: We explored links between income inequality and rates of homicide in 33 countries and then tested whether this association is mediated by an indicator of social capital (interpersonal trust) or by public spending on health and education. Survey data on trust were collected from 48 641 adults and matched to country data on per capita income, income inequality, public expenditures on health and education and rate of homicides. Results: Between countries, income inequality correlated with trust (r = −0.64) and homicide (r = 0.80) but not with public expenditures. Trust also correlated with homicides (r = −0.58) and partly mediated the association between income inequality and homicide, whilst public expenditures did not. Multilevel analysis showed that income inequality related to less trust after differences in per capita income and sample characteristics were taken into account. Conclusion: Results were consistent with psychosocial explanations of links between income inequality and homicide; however, the causal relationship between inequality, trust and homicide remains unclear given the cross-sectional design of this study. Societies with large income differences and low levels of trust may lack the social capacity to create safe communities.

Parents have significant influence on behaviors and perceptions surrounding eating, body image and weight in adolescents. The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence of body weight dissatisfaction, difficulty in communication with the parents and the relationship between communication with parents and adolescents' dissatisfaction with their body weight (dieting or perceived need to diet).

Community health surveys often collect self-report data on body height and weight for the purposes of calculating the Body Mass Index (BMI) and identifying cases of overweight and obesity. The aim of the study was to test the validity of this method and to describe age and gender trends in self-report bias in height, weight, and BMI.

This study examined parental behaviors as mediators in links between depressive symptoms in mothers and fathers and child adjustment problems. Participants were 4,184 parents and 6,048 10- to 15-year-olds enrolled in the 1998 and 2000 cycles of the Canadian National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth. Mothers and fathers self-reported symptoms of depression at Times 1 and 2 and their children assessed parental nurturance, rejection, and monitoring and self-reported internalizing and externalizing problems and prosocial behavior at Time 2. Hierarchical linear modeling showed evidence of mediation involving all three domains of parental behavior. Findings supported the hypothesis that the quality of the child’s rearing environment is one mechanism that carries risk to children of depressed parents. Interventions for parents whose symptoms of depression interfere with parenting responsibilities could help reduce the risk of some childhood disorders.