Survey of children, youth in New Brunswick highlights health and wellness disparities

Children and youth from disadvantaged backgrounds in New Brunswick are less likely than average to eat breakfast daily, but more likely than average to be victims of bullying and to experience loneliness, according to newly published survey results from the New Brunswick Health Council.

The student wellness and education survey was carried out in public schools across the province in November, with more 65,000 people taking part.

To measure socioeconomic status, the study used the Family Affluence Scale, which estimates wealth based on factors including the number of vehicles, bathrooms, and computers in a household; the number of family holidays in a year; the presence of a dishwasher in the home; and whether the child has their own bedroom.

Based on those items, each child is assigned a score, with the bottom 20 per cent representing low socioeconomic status and the top 20 per cent representing high status.

The findings, published on Tuesday, shed light on how socioeconomic inequalities are affecting the health and well-being of children and youth. Notable findings include a sharp disparity in terms of eating breakfast, a meal that’s considered essential for learning in school.

Only 28 per cent of children from low-status households reported eating breakfast daily, compared to 44 per cent from high status households. And the overall provincial average was only 37 per cent.

Stéphane Robichaud, head of the NB Health Council, expressed optimism about the recent introduction of programs meant to address hunger in public schools.

“We’re hoping, as we’re going to continue monitoring this, that that number is going to improve,” he said.

Premier Susan Holt’s government has introduced a universal breakfast program and a pay-what-you-can lunch program, two Liberal Party pledges from the 2024 election campaign. However, the lunch program has been delayed and still hasn’t been introduced in 45 schools, the CBC reported last week.

Students from poorer families were also generally less likely to report very good physical or mental health.

Only 35 per cent of youth with a low socioeconomic status said they perceived their health to be “very good or excellent,” compared to 67 per cent of youth from a high-status household. The average across New Brunswick was 51 per cent.

The results were similar for mental health: on average, 31 per cent of youth with a low socioeconomic status perceived their mental health as “very good or excellent,” compared to 54 per cent from high-status backgrounds, and a provincial average of 42 per cent.

Robichaud noted that a lack of transportation may affect children’s ability to take part in sports or other physical activities and connect with other youth, also resulting in more loneliness.

Indeed, the results show that students from low-status households were less likely than average to have one hour or more of daily physical activity.

And 28 per cent of youth from low-status households said they were “lonely, most or all of the time” over the last 12 months, compared to 15 per cent of youth from high-status households.

Youth from low-status households were also somewhat more likely to be bullied: on average, 54 per cent from that group stated that they had been a victim of bullying at school over the past year, compared to 43 per cent of youth from high-status families.

Robichaud said that may have to do with factors like not being able to afford new clothes, but also that children with fewer resources tend to be less resilient in the face of bullying.

“For those that are subjected to bullying, there is a difference when someone feels alone,” he said, “compared to someone else that’s being similarly bullied but, may at least have a network of friends.”

The respondents included roughly 6,250 parents or guardians of children in kindergarten through grade 5, along with about 13,500 students in grades 4 and 5 and 47,500 students in grades 6 through 12.

Due to the high level of overall participation, the margin of error for the survey was less than one per cent, according to the NB Health Council.

David Gordon Koch is a staff reporter with the NB Media Co-op. This reporting has been made possible in part by the Government of Canada, via the Local Journalism Initiative.