Abstract
Neighbourhood greenness has been frequently associated with improved mental health in adulthood, yet its impact among youth is less clear. Additionally, though youth spend large portions of time at school, no study has investigated associations between school-based measures of greenness and students’ mental health in Canada. We addressed this gap by linking participant responses from the 2016–2017 Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey to school-based features of the built environment. Our analyses included 6313 students, ages 11–20. Measures of greenness were the mean and max of the annual mean Normalized Difference Vegetation Index within 500 m and 1000 m from the centroid of the school postal code. Measures of mental health included: serious psychological distress (Kessler 6-item Psychological Distress Scale), self-rated mental health (using a five-point Likert scale), suicide ideation, and suicide attempt. In our study population, the prevalence of serious psychological distress and low self-rated mental health was 16.7% and 20.3%, respectively. Suicide ideation was reported by 13.5% of participants, while 3.7% reported a suicide attempt. Quantity of greenness was similar between schools in the lower and upper quartiles. In logistic regressions, we found no association between objective school-based greenness and mental health, as assessed by multiple measures, both before and after adjustment. Null findings held true after stratification by season, as well. Whether other characteristics of school greenness (such as type, quality, or access and use) are more impactful to students’ mental health should be a focus of future analyses.
Highlights
The transition between childhood and adulthood is a period of life characterized by rapid physical, psychological, and cognitive development, and lays a foundation for future mental health and resilience [1,2]
Suicide ideation was indicated by 13.5% of participants, while 3.7% reported a suicide attempt
Drug Use and Health Survey; CANUE, Canadian Urban Environmental Health Research Consortium; aOR, Adjusted odds ratio; 95% CI, 95% confidence interval. a All models are adjusted for age, sex, ethno-racial background, self-reported socio-economic status, and season
Summary
The transition between childhood and adulthood is a period of life characterized by rapid physical, psychological, and cognitive development, and lays a foundation for future mental health and resilience [1,2]. An estimated 70% of mental health problems first appear during this developmental period [3]. According to a recent provincial survey, approximately 1 in 3 Ontario middle- and high-school students (grades 7–12) indicated moderate to serious psychological distress, with prevalence increasing greatly by grade and over time [4]. Mental illness is responsible for the most years of life lost due to disability and premature mortality of any other condition among Canadian youth aged 10–24 [5]. Res. Public Health 2019, 16, 4364; doi:10.3390/ijerph16224364 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph
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