Young Canadians Research Articles

In Process Citation

The increase in available student placements at colleges and universities, the implementation of provincial and federal postsecondary education policies, and the rise of the educational aspirations of families and individuals have all led to the massification of Canadian higher education. Based on Merle's typology of the forms of democratization, this article attempts to revisit the theory of equality of opportunities by critically analyzing the link between massification of higher education and social equity. The results of an analysis of longitudinal data from the (YIT) Youth in Transition Survey show that at the age of 24 in 2008, approximately 77% of young Canadians have pursued studies in a college or university. If access to postsecondary education is now higher, to what extent has it improved social equity? The article shows, in light of the Merle's typology, that mass university education is achieved in part under the seal of a segregative democratization, while college education tends to be egalitarian.

252. Refining the Transition Readiness Assessment Questionnaire (TRAQ): Considerations From a Study of Canadian Young Adults With Neurological Conditions

252. Refining the Transition Readiness Assessment Questionnaire (TRAQ): Considerations From a Study of Canadian Young Adults With Neurological Conditions

Canada’s Global Villagers: CUSO in Development, 1961–1986, by Ruth Compton Brouwer

Ruth Compton Brouwer Canada's Global Villagers: CUSO in Development, 1961-1986 Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, 2013. 317pp., $95.00 (cloth) ISBN: 978-0774826037I am sure young Americans would learn a great deal in this country and it could be an important experience for them, Indian prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru remarked to Peace Corps Director Sargent Shriver in 1961. I hope, India's premier added, you and they will not be too disappointed if the Punjab, when they leave, is more or less the same as it was before they came.1 Nehru's quip about the impact of development efforts gives an indication of some of the cynicism surrounding Western involvement in what was once called the Third World, even at the height of the era of development. Indeed, 1961 saw the founding not just of the United States Peace Corps but also of the Canadian University Service Overseas. In Canada's Global Villagers, Ruth Compton Brouwer offers a useful and thought-provoking history of CUSO during its first quarter century. Drawing on the CUSO records at Library and Archives Canada, a number of other archival collections, and a wealth of interviews and first-hand accounts, Brouwer has written an excellent study of this organization. Her analysis, however, is not confined to an institutional history. Rather, much of the book examines the young, intrepid Canadians who set out to make the world a better place, or who at least became the point of contact between Canada and the developing world.Unlike the Peace Corps, which was crafted to be a tool of US foreign policy, CUSO was formed at arm's length from the Canadian government. Fittingly, then, Brouwer avoids a state-centric approach, looking not at policymakers in Ottawa and envoys in far-flung diplomatic missions but at the functioning of CUSO, its internal politics, and the experience of the volunteers who served abroad. Not that Ottawa is ignored. The book begins with a discussion of CUSO's founding on the basis of a number of university groups and then looks at the tentative links to the governments of John Diefenbaker, Lester Pearson, and Pierre Trudeau, prime ministers all interested in aiding under-developed nations. Spurned by the Diefenbaker government, CUSO found more support from Pearson and then from Trudeau, although not without bunfights over precious funding. The organization also engaged in major lobbying efforts to see more government-sponsored development aid, and drew upon cross-party support to keep its own lifeline intact.CUSO volunteers generally maintained their distance from Canadian diplomatic missions while in-country, but the organization itself had an interesting relationship with the government as a major recipient of state funding. CUSO, in fact, survived when other government-funded development programs did not: Service universitaire canadien outre-mer (SUCO), its French-Canadian equivalent, and the Company of Young Canadians, meant to promote domestic development, were both starved of funding after veering into radicalism. CUSO was not free of politicization, of course. It was, after all, a youth organization functioning in an era not just of youth revolt but also of Third World revolt against the West. Brouwer captures the heady idealism of the first groups of volunteers and traces the growing realism of later volunteers, who were much more conscious of the limited effects of their efforts. …

The Initiative to Maximize Progress in Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Therapy (IMPACT) Cohort Study: a population-based cohort of young Canadians with cancer.

BackgroundCancer is the leading cause of disease-related death in adolescents and young adults (AYA). Annual improvements in AYA cancer survival have been inferior to those observed in children and older adults. Prior studies of AYA with cancer have been limited by their focus on patients from select treatment centres, reducing generalizability, or by being population-based but lacking diagnostic and treatment details. There is a critical need to conduct population-based studies that capture detailed patient, disease, treatment and system-level data on all AYA regardless of treatment location.Methods/DesignWe will create a cohort of all AYA (aged 15–21 years) at the time of diagnosis with any malignancy between 1992 and 2011 in Ontario, Canada (n = 5,394). Subjects will be identified through the Ontario Cancer Registry and the final cohort will be expanded to include 2012 diagnoses, as these data become available. Detailed diagnostic, treatment and outcome data for those patients treated at a pediatric cancer centre will be provided by a population-based pediatric cancer registry (n = 1,030). For 15–18 year olds treated at adult centres (n = 923) and all 19–21 year olds (n = 3396), trained abstractors will collect the comparable data elements from medical records. We will link these data to population-based administrative health data that include physician billings, hospitalizations and emergency room visits. This will allow descriptions of health care access and use prior to cancer diagnosis, and during and after treatment.DiscussionThe IMPACT cohort will serve as a platform for addressing questions that span the AYA cancer journey. These will include determining which factors influence where AYA receive care, the impact of locus of care on the types and intensity of cancer therapy, appropriateness of surveillance for disease recurrence, access to clinical trials, and receipt of palliative and survivor care. Findings using the IMPACT cohort have the potential to lead to changes in practice and cancer policy, reduce mortality, and improve quality of life for AYA with cancer. The IMPACT data platform will be a permanent resource, accessible to researchers across Canada.

Using verbal protocol to examine the comprehension and use of nutrition facts tables among young Canadians (390.8)

OBJECTIVES: To explore how young Canadians engage with, understand, and use serving size and %DV information on current and modified Nutrition Facts Tables (NFts).METHODS: 26 participants aged 16‐24 years were recruited. Participants were randomly assigned to two NFts, one with high (蠅15%DV) and one with low (≤5%DV) sodium amount, altered to one of the 6 conditions: 1) Current NFts; 2) Standardized serving sizes (SSS); 3) High/Low (H/L) descriptors beside % Daily Value (%DV) for negative nutrients; 4) SSS + H/L descriptors; 5) H/L and color beside %DV; and 6) SSS + H/L and color. Participants completed a skill‐based questionnaire using the “think aloud” technique. Content analysis was used to examine how participants interpret, define, compare, and manipulate information in NFts.RESULTS: Exploration of participants’ thought processes identified barriers to understanding and using the current NFt. The barriers include failure to understand %DV, difficulty in manipulating %DV to compare nutrients across various serving sizes, and confusion about how to use NFt to choose foods. Analysis also revealed that the barriers mentioned above can be addressed by standardizing serving sizes on NFts and adding simple descriptors and/or colors to %DV information.CONCLUSIONS: SSS and H/L descriptors or color coded %DV information assists young people in understanding and using NFts when comparing and choosing foods.

Practical Patriotism: How the Canadian Junior Red Cross and its Child Members Met the Challenge of the Second World War

The advent of the Second World War posed certain dilemmas for the previously internationalist and peace-promoting Canadian Junior Red Cross (JRC). This article draws upon institutional sources and secondary literature around coercion and agency in children’s wartime voluntary labor to examine both the adjustments made by the JRC and children’s responses to those changes. Through strategies of avoidance, adaptation and redirection, the Canadian JRC successfully negotiated the wartime challenge to its peacetime agenda. However, although these organizational changes were important, the program’s success ultimately relied upon young Canadians’ own productivity and desire to participate.

Oncofertility in Canada: cryopreservation and alternative options for future parenthood

Cancer can be a devastating diagnosis. In particular, malignancy and its indicated treatments have profoundly negative effects on the fertility of young cancer patients. Oncofertility has emerged as a new interdisciplinary field to address the issue of gonadotoxicity associated with cancer therapies and to facilitate fertility preservation. In Canada, these fertility issues are often inadequately addressed despite the availability of resources. The goal of this four-part series is to facilitate systemic improvements in fertility preservation for adolescent and young adult Canadians with a new diagnosis of cancer. This article reviews fertility preservation options that use cryopreservation techniques. It also outlines some of the alternative options for future parenthood. Cryopreservation of a woman's gametes and gonadal tissue may involve embryo, oocyte, and ovarian tissue cryopreservation with or without ovarian stimulation. Similarly, male gametes and gonadal tissue may be cryopreserved. Techniques and success rates continue to improve. Third-party assistance through gamete donation, gestational carriers, and adoption are also alternative options for parenthood. Cryopreservation techniques are especially feasible options for fertility preservation in the newly diagnosed cancer patient.

The War Against Public Forgetfulness:Commemorating 1812 in Canada

In October 2011, the Government of Canada began a two-year, nation-wide celebration of the bicentenary of the War of 1812. The widely-criticized initiative returned the public eye to a traditional ‘interpretive tableau’ of war heroes, namely Isaac Brock, Tecumseh, Charles de Salaberry and Laura Secord. While the scope and expense of the federal government’s efforts have been unprecedented, the political battle to maintain certain memories of the War is one that is not new. A struggle against the forgetfulness of Canadians, and particularly young Canadians, has animated commemorations of the War for almost two centuries. Looking at a selection of past commemorative efforts this essay explores how the inertia of a traditional tableau of heroes has tended to overshadow other narratives and newer interpretations. Yet all is not lost. Using the example of the author’s exhibition, Faces of 1812, it is suggested that publicly-constructed histories can be employed as a useful departure point for the public historian and provide a foundation from which the public can obtain a broader, more critical perspective on both the commemorated events and history writ large.

Oncofertility in Canada: Gonadal Protection and Fertility-Sparing Strategies

Background: Cancer can be a devastating diagnosis. In particular, malignancy and its indicated treatments have profoundly negative effects on the fertility of young cancer patients. Oncofertility has emerged as a new interdisciplinary field to address the issue of gonadotoxicity associated with cancer therapies and to facilitate fertility preservation. In Canada, fertility issues are often inadequately addressed despite the availability of resources. The goal of this four-part series is to facilitate systemic improvements in fertility preservation for adolescent and young adult Canadians with a new diagnosis of cancer. Methods: Here, we review the fertility preservation measures currently available. Medical and surgical strategies are both outlined. Results: Fertility-preserving strategies and gonadal protection have demonstrated variable success in a number of approaches. The value of hormone suppression is still in question for women. Progestins for endometrial cancer and alternative chemotherapies are other medical approaches. Gonadal shielding and protective surgical approaches have also been attempted. Conclusions: The techniques discussed here may be selectively considered and integrated into patient care in an attempt to preserve future fertility before initiating cancer treatment.

Prevalence and predictors of condom use in a national sample of Canadian university students

Young adult Canadians of university age are highly sexually active compared to other age groups and are at relatively high risk for sexually transmitted infections (STI). It is therefore important to comprehensively assess condom use in this age group. In this study, the prevalence and individual predictors of condom use at last penile vaginal intercourse (PVI) were assessed in a national sample of 653 Canadian university students (252 male, 401 female). Overall, less than half of students (47.2%) reported condom use at last PVI. Condom use was higher among men (55.4%) than women (42.3%). For both men and women, the most frequently cited main reason for having used a condom was birth control. In multivariate analyses, the strongest predictor of condom use at last PVI was a preference for condoms as a contraceptive method; specifically, men and women who stated condoms were their preferred method were 9 and 23 times, respectively, more likely to use condoms at last PVI than those who selected another method. Female students who reported that their most recent sexual encounter occurred with a more committed partner (e.g., committed dating versus a hook-up) had slightly lower odds of reporting condom use at last PVI. The results indicated that rates of condom use are low among Canadian university students and that many students are likely at high risk for STI. Interventions to raise awareness of STIs are needed on Canadian university campuses and educational programs should emphasize improving attitudes towards condoms in addition to developing sexual health knowledge and condom use skills.

Why is BC Best? The Role of Provincial and Reserve School Systems in Explaining Aboriginal Student Performance

Poor education outcomes for Aboriginals in Canada have long been a source of concern for Aboriginal leaders and the provincial and federal governments. Notably, sixty percent of young Aboriginal adults living on reserves in Canada lack high-school certification. As a result, they face severely limited employment opportunities off-reserve, and limited opportunities on-reserve. Among young Canadians not living on a reserve, those who identify as Indian-First Nation have better education outcomes than those on-reserve, but they are weaker than outcomes for Metis. In general, non-Aboriginals achieve the best outcomes. This Commentary undertakes a suggestive, but far-from-definitive, exercise in assessing the role of education policies and institutions in Aboriginal K-12 outcomes. It disaggregates the young adult Aboriginal population (ages 20-24 at the time of the 2006 census) into subgroups defined by province, location within a province (urban vs. rural and on- vs. off-reserve) and by Aboriginal identity group (non-Aboriginal, Metis, Indian-First Nation). After allowance for the impact of school location and employment rate as a proxy for family characteristics, this examination finds that British Columbia has achieved considerably better K-12 outcomes than the five other provinces, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta, with large Aboriginal cohorts. The Commentary discusses three institutional and policy differences between British Columbia and other provinces that may explain its superior outcomes: i) more comprehensive and regular monitoring of Aboriginal student performance in the core competencies of reading, writing and mathematics; ii) incentives for provincial school districts to innovate and consult with local Aboriginal leaders; and iii) the encompassing nature of First Nation institutions providing secondary services to reserve schools.

Oncofertility in Canada: An Overview of Canadian Practice and Suggested Action Plan

Cancer can be a devastating diagnosis. In particular, malignancy and its indicated treatments have profoundly negative effects on the fertility of young cancer patients. Oncofertility has emerged as a new interdisciplinary field to address the issue of gonadotoxicity associated with cancer therapies and to facilitate fertility preservation. In Canada, these fertility issues are often inadequately addressed despite the availability of resources. The goal of this four-part series is to facilitate systemic improvements in fertility preservation for adolescent and young adult Canadians with a new diagnosis of cancer. Here, we describe the services currently available in Canada and the challenges associated with their utilization. Finally, we outline strategies to help maximize and facilitate fertility preservation in the young cancer patient. Despite an existing infrastructure to the oncofertility system in Canada, the ability of that system's components to function together and to coordinate patient care is a challenge. Areas of weakness include poor access and referral to fertility services, a lack of readily available education for patients and health care providers, and inconsistent interdisciplinary coordination in patient care. The implementation of a framework for multidisciplinary resource allocation, education, patient referral, and established lines of communication may facilitate a functional oncofertility system in Canada.

Personal openness toward interfaith dating and marriage among Muslim young adults: The role of religiosity, cultural identity, and family connectedness

This study ( N = 234) examined Muslim Canadian young adults’ openness to interfaith dating and marriage. We extended previous research on interfaith dating by examining the role of mainstream cultural identification and family connectedness, in addition to religiosity and gender. Participants reported more openness to dating than marrying a non-Muslim, although the pattern of results was similar for both. As expected, stronger religious fundamentalism and stronger religious identification were predictive of less openness toward interfaith dating and marriage. Conversely, stronger identification with mainstream Canadian culture significantly predicted more personal openness toward intimate interfaith relationships with a non-Muslim. The role of family connectedness was indirectly transmitted through religious identification. Finally, being a man was predictive of more personal openness toward both dating and marrying a non-Muslim. Findings suggest that openness to interfaith romantic relationships among young Muslim Canadians is affected by multiple factors, including, but not limited to religious ones.

Why are young Canadians afraid of birth? A survey study of childbirth fear and birth preferences among Canadian University students

Objectiveto examine attitudes towards birth that may be common among young adults who have been socialised into a medicalised birth culture. Specifically, we were interested in examining factors that might be associated with fear of birth and preferences for elective obstetric interventions among the next generation of maternity care consumers. Designsecondary analysis of an online survey of university students. SettingBritish Columbia, Canada. Participantsstudents from the University of British Columbia (n=3680). A quarter of the sample comprised Asian students, which allowed for analysis of cultural differences in attitudes towards birth. Both male and female students participated in the study; results are reported for the full sample, and by gender. Measurementsa six item fear of childbirth scale was developed, as well as a 4 item index that measures students' concerns over physical changes following pregnancy and birth and a 2 item scale that assesses students' attitudes towards obstetric technology. Findingsas we hypothesised, students who were more fearful of birth preferred epidural anaesthesia and birth by CS. Worries over physical changes following pregnancy and birth, favourable attitudes towards obstetric technology, and exposure to pregnancy and birth information via the media were also significantly associated with a preference for CS. Fear of birth scores were highest among students who reported that the media had shaped their attitudes towards pregnancy and birth. Asian students had significantly higher fear of birth scores and were more likely to prefer CS, compared to Caucasian students. Implications for practiceyoung adults are contemplating pregnancy and birth in an increasingly technology-dependent society. Educational programmes aimed at reducing fear of childbirth and concerns over physical changes following pregnancy and childbirth might contribute to vaginal birth intentions among young adults. Midwives may use the findings to identify and counsel nulliparas who exhibit fear of birth and other childbirth attitudes that may predispose them to choose elective obstetric interventions.

Oncofertility in Canada: the impact of cancer on fertility.

Cancer can be a devastating diagnosis. In particular, malignancy and its indicated treatments have profoundly negative effects on the fertility of young cancer patients. Oncofertility has emerged as a new interdisciplinary field to address the issue of gonadotoxicity associated with cancer therapies and to facilitate fertility preservation. In Canada, these fertility issues are often inadequately addressed despite the availability of resources. The goal of this four-part series is to facilitate systemic improvements in fertility preservation for adolescent and young adult Canadians with a new diagnosis of cancer. In this article, we review the gonadotoxic effects of cancer treatment on young men and women of reproductive age. The detrimental effects of cancer on fertility can be severe and may vary depending on the chemotherapy, radiotherapy, or surgical treatments involved. Fertility preservation should be addressed in an effort to mitigate the gonadal damage that may come with cancer therapy.

Participation in Church or Religious Groups and its Association with Health: A National Study of Young Canadians

The purpose of this study was to determine how participation of young Canadians in a church or religious group correlated with holistic health indicators. Health was viewed in terms of risk and protective behaviors, outward looking prosocial behaviors, and measures of internal feelings, with the composite picture of health connecting to the Hebrew concept of shalom. A separate analysis of sports-involved children was used as a comparator. Children involved in religious groups reported lower participation in risk behaviors, higher prosocial behaviors, but poorer levels of the more holistic measures of health. Sports-connected youth reported more positive holistic measures of health and some increases in overt risk-taking. Our findings raise theological and practical issues regarding how the church understands itself and lives out its mission. They suggest an emphasis on teaching about behaviors and morality rather than an understanding of shalom that is grounded in the Incarnation and in the deeply integrative nature of the Christian life.

Evergreen: Creating a Child and Youth Mental Health Framework for Canada

Mental disorders affect many young Canadians, and most do not access care, partly because of lack of health policy-driven programs and services. Recognizing this policy need, the Child and Youth Advisory Committee of the Mental Health Commission of Canada created Evergreen: A Child and Youth Mental Health Framework for Canada. Evergreen was designed as a framework to guide development, implementation, and review of child and youth mental health policies, plans, and services across Canada. This Open Forum report describes the framework and the innovative features used to create Evergreen, including the advisory committee structure, application of qualitative research methods and tools, informed public input, and use of online collaborative writing technologies.

Exposure to public natural space as a protective factor for emotional well-being among young people in Canada

BackgroundPositive emotional well-being is fundamentally important to general health status, and is linked to many favorable health outcomes. There is societal interest in understanding determinants of emotional well-being in adolescence, and the natural environment represents one potential determinant. Psychological and experimental research have each shown links between exposure to nature and both stress reduction and attention restoration. Some population studies have suggested positive effects of green space on various indicators of health. However, there are limited large-scale epidemiological studies assessing this relationship, specifically for populations of young people and in the Canadian context. The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between exposure to public natural space and positive emotional well-being among young adolescent Canadians.MethodsThis cross-sectional study was based upon the Canadian 2009/10 Health Behaviour in School-aged Children Survey with linked geographic information system (GIS) data. Following exclusions, the sample included 17 249 (grades 6 to 10, mostly ages 11 to 16) students from 317 schools. Features of the natural environment were extracted using GIS within a 5 km radius circular buffer surrounding each school. Multilevel logistic regression was used to examine the relationship between the presence of public natural space (features include green and blue spaces such as parks, wooded areas, and water bodies) and students’ reports of positive emotional well-being, while controlling for salient covariates and the clustered nature of the data.ResultsOver half of Canadian youth reported positive emotional well-being (58.5% among boys and 51.6% among girls). Relationships between measures of natural space and positive emotional well-being were weak and lacked consistency overall, but modest protective effects were observed in small cities. Positive emotional well-being was more strongly associated with other factors including demographic characteristics, family affluence, and perceptions of neighbourhood surroundings.ConclusionExposure to natural space in youth’s immediate living environment may not be a leading determinant of their emotional well-being. The relationship between natural space and positive emotional well-being may be context specific, and thus different for Canadian youth compared to adult populations and those studied in other nations. Factors of the individual context were stronger potential determinants.

Access and Persistence of Students from Low‐Income Backgrounds in Canadian Post‐Secondary Education: A Review of the Literature

Whether to attend a post‐secondary education (PSE) institution, which one to attend, and how to complete its degree or diploma requirements are extraordinarily complex decisions that are faced by millions of young Canadians. Factors such as financial considerations, family background, information constraints and inherent ability all interact to determine whether or not young Canadians will attend, and ultimately graduate from, any one of the variety of PSE institutions across the country. Until recently, the study of these decisions in Canada has been hindered by a general lack of policy interest as well as the lack of appropriate data to adequately tackle these complex questions. This paper attempts to review the state of knowledge regarding access to and persistence in PSE in Canada, with emphasis on the experiences of students from low‐income families, a group which has historically not benefited from publicly financed PSE as much as those from middle‐ and high‐income families, yet whose participation is seen as fundamental to Canada’s competitiveness in the global knowledge‐based economy. The focus is on the empirical work done is this area in Canada, as well as the United States, since there are many similarities in the educational systems between the two countries and studies in these areas have generally advanced further south of the border. The purpose is to assist researchers in accessing the state of knowledge and seeking new avenues of policy‐relevant research for Canada.

"Federally Financed Felquistes": The Company of Young Canadians and the Prelude to the October Crisis

"Federally Financed Felquistes": The Company of Young Canadians and the Prelude to the October Crisis