Alberta Youth Research Articles

Capital, distinction, and racialized habitus: immigrant youth in the educational field

Chinese Canadian youth are usually represented as a model minority and are therefore rendered invisible in identity debates. Drawing on Bourdieu's concepts of capital, field, habitus, and distinction, this paper examines how racism affects the identity construction of Chinese youth in different school fields. Particularly, I raise and discuss a theoretical concept, racialized habitus, which is manifested as both intergroup exclusion and intragroup distinction. This theorization is grounded in interview data with 36 first- and second-generation Chinese Canadian youth in Alberta, Canada. This study indicates the continuing significance of research on racism. It calls for challenging racism as an act of distinction, habitus, and action, as well as a discursive practice of discourse.

Changes in Dietary and Physical Activity Risk Factors for Type 2 Diabetes in Alberta Youth Between 2005 and 2008

Unhealthy dietary and physical inactivity patterns inspired many initiatives promoting healthy youth and healthy schools in Alberta between 2005 and 2008. The purpose of this study was to examine differences in the prevalence of lifestyle risk factors for type 2 diabetes (T2D) between two province-wide samples of Alberta adolescents (2005 and 2008). The dietary and physical activity (PA) patterns of Alberta youth were assessed in two cross-sectional studies of grade 7-10 students, one in 2005 (n=4936) and one in 2008 (n=5091), using a validated web-survey. For each diabetes risk factor, participants were classified as either at risk or not at risk, depending on their survey results relative to cut-off values. Chi-square tests and logistic regression models were used to determine differences in risk factor prevalence between 2005 and 2008. Compared to 2005, mean BMI, energy intake, fat intake, glycemic index (GI) and glycemic load (GL) were lower in 2008 (p<0.05); and carbohydrate, protein, fibre and vegetable and fruit intakes were higher in 2008 (p<0.05). In 2008, a lower proportion of students were: overweight, obese, consuming high GI, high GL, high fat, low fibre, low veg/fruit intake (p<0.05). No differences existed in magnesium or PA levels between the two time points. Improvements were observed between 2005 and 2008 in terms of the proportion of adolescents having specific risk factors for T2D. The cause of these changes could not be determined. Continued monitoring of adolescent lifestyle habits and monitoring of exposure to health promotion programming is recommended.

Increasing rates of diabetes amongst status Aboriginal youth in Alberta, Canada

Objectives. To track and compare trends in diabetes rates from 1995 to 2007 for Status Aboriginal and general population youth.Study design. Longitudinal observational research study (quantitative) using provincial administrative data.Methods. De-identified data was obtained from Alberta Health and Wellness administrative databases for Status Aboriginal (First Nations and Inuit people with Treaty status) and general population youth (<20 years). Diabetes cases were identified using the National Diabetes Surveillance System algorithm. Crude annual diabetes prevalence and incidence rates were calculated. The likelihood of being a prevalent case and incident case of diabetes for the 2 populations was compared for the year 2007. Average Annual Percent Changes (AAPC) in prevalence and incidence from 1995 to 2007 were determined and compared between the 2 groups to examine trends over time.Results. While the prevalence of diabetes was higher in the general population in 1995, by 2007 there were no between group differences, reflected in the significantly higher AAPC of 6.98 for Status Aboriginal youth. Status Aboriginal males had a lower diabetes risk in 1995 compared with females, and experienced a greater increase in prevalence over the 13 years (AAPC 9.18) so that by 2007 their rates were equivalent to those of the females. Differences in diabetes incidence trends were only observed among male youth, where increases in incidence were greater for Status Aboriginal (AAPC 11.65) compared to general population males (AAPC 4.62) (p = 0.03).Conclusion. Youth-onset diabetes is an increasing problem in Alberta, especially among young Status Aboriginal males.

Childhood cancer trends in a western Canadian province: A population‐based 22‐year retrospective study

The objective of this study was to describe children and youth <20 years of age diagnosed with malignant cancer in Alberta, Canada over 22 years. We consider both temporal and geographical variations. The Alberta Cancer registry was used to extract information on cancer diagnoses during April 1, 1982, and March 31, 2004. Data extracted included gender, age at diagnosis, diagnosis, and geographic information. Population data were also obtained and analyses included descriptive summaries, rates, and cluster detection tests. During 22 fiscal years, 2,758 Alberta children and youth were diagnosed with malignant cancer. The average age of diagnosis was 9.6 years. The most common diagnoses were leukemia (24.8%), central nervous system (16.7%), lymphoma (15.8%), and other epithelial neoplasm and melanoma (11.2%). The number of malignant cases varied over year with crude rates of 13.4 per 100,000 in 1982/1983 to 17.3 per 100,000 in 2003/2004. Variation was also seen over diagnosis sub-group and geographic region. Although a relatively rare number of children and youth in Alberta were diagnosed with cancer during the study period, there were suggestions that an increase incidence in childhood cancer occurred in later years and some geographic areas have more cases than expected by chance. Further study is required to see if emerging trends continue and explain higher rate areas.

The Role of Self-Efficacy in Explaining Gender Differences in Physical Activity Among Adolescents: A Multilevel Analysis

The purposes of this study were to determine if a) gender moderated the relationship between self-efficacy and physical activity (PA) among youth in Alberta, Canada, and, alternatively b) if self-efficacy mediated the relationship between gender and PA. A novel web-based tool was used to survey a regionally diverse sample of 4779 students (boys = 2222, girls = 2557) from 117 schools in grades 7 to 10 (mean age = 13.64 yrs.). Among other variables, students were asked about their PA and self-efficacy for participating in PA. Based upon a series of multilevel analyses, self-efficacy was found to be a significantly stronger correlate of PA for girls. But, boys had significantly higher self-efficacy compared with girls, which resulted in significantly more PA. Findings suggest self-efficacy is an important correlate of PA among adolescent girls but that boys are more physically active because they have more self-efficacy for PA.

Examining sedentary behaviour among youth in Alberta, Canada

Examining sedentary behaviour among youth in Alberta, Canada

The prevention of pathological gambling: An annotated bibliography

The prevention of pathological gambling: An annotated bibliography Peter Ferentzy, Nigel E. Turner, & Wayne Skinner, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. E-mail: Nigel_Turner@camh.net The preparation of this annotated bibliography was guided by a desire to include all of the problem gambling research articles related to prevention that have been published in English. Some exceptions were made for articles published in other languages but for which an English abstract was available that provided sufficient details about the study. All studies were included, regardless of their methodological quality. In some cases, studies utilizing the same treated sample but providing additional results of the study were included. The annotations are brief and simply provide the reader with the full bibliographic reference, the basic approach that is evaluated in the study, and, when available, information about the results. No effort was made to critically appraise or review the study. Since the problem gambling research field is a growing area of inquiry, this bibliography will become quickly outdated and will require regular update to remain current. Prevention is a complex topic that must take into consideration the causes of the problems. As such we not only report papers evaluating prevention programs but also discuss papers that explore the causes of pathological gambling. These papers on prevention are divided into four categories: risk factors, programs, evaluations of programs, and conceptual issues and general information. Each paper was placed into the category that it best suited. 1. Risk factors Alberta Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission. (2002). Patterns of exposure to risk and protection for substance and gambling use and abuse: Alberta Youth Experience Survey 2002. Edmonton, AB: Author. The Alberta Youth Experience Survey of 2002 provides information on substance and gambling use and abuse among adolescents. The main focus was on risk and protective factors. Three types of prevention programs are discussed: (1) universal—promotes overall health and the prevention or delay of the onset of Page 1 of 50 JGI:Issue 17, August 2006.

Creating Frameworks for Providing Services Closer to Home in the Context of a Network

Networks can be used to develop shared frameworks that extend limited specialized healthcare services beyond tertiary level settings to provide services closer to home. This article provides an overview of networks, describes the context and purpose of the Southern Alberta Child & Youth Health Network, reports on early experiences with implementation of an Outreach Services Framework, and discusses implications from a network perspective.

Skiing and Snowboarding Injuries in Southern Alberta Youth

Skiing and Snowboarding Injuries in Southern Alberta Youth

A new factor in youth suicide: the relative age effect.

To determine whether youth in Alberta who had completed suicide were more likely to be younger than their classmates on entering grade 1 (that is, showed a relative age effect). Records were obtained for all deaths by suicide by individuals under the age of 20 years in Alberta during the years 1979-1992. The relative age of each of these persons was determined by comparing his or her month of birth to the birth months of the appropriate school-grade cohort. A disproportionate number of the subjects were born in the second half of the "school eligibility year," indicating a higher probability that those who completed suicide were younger than their classmates. Previous research indicates that relative age is strongly related to school performance and success in sports. The present study demonstrates that the relative age effect is also a factor in youth suicide. It is suggested that the higher incidence of youth suicide in the group of relatively younger school children may have resulted from poorer school performance, which in turn led to lowered confidence and self esteem. Past research suggests that these conditions may predispose children to hopelessness and depression, which are often thought to be essential components of suicide. Research aimed at neutralizing the negative effects of relative age should have important personal and social consequences.