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Previous research indicates that the disproportionate distribution of income within society is associated with aggression and violence. Although research has been conducted identifying the relationship between income inequality and bullying victimization and perpetration, little is known about possible mediators. We investigated the association between income inequality and bullying perpetration and victimization among adolescents participating in the Cannabis, Obesity, Mental health, Physical activity, Alcohol use, Smoking, and Sedentary behavior (COMPASS) study. We identified whether school connectedness and psychosocial well-being mediated the relationship between income inequality and bullying behavior. This study used pooled cross-sectional data from 147,748 adolescents aged 13 to 18 from three waves (2015-2016, 2016-2017, 2017-2018) of the COMPASS study from 157 secondary schools in British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, and Quebec (Canada). The Gini coefficient was calculated based on the school Census Divisions (CD) using the Canada 2016 Census and linked with student data. We used multilevel modeling to investigate the relationship between income inequality and self-reported bullying victimization and perpetration, while controlling for individual-, school-, and CD-level characteristics. A standard deviation increase in Gini coefficient was associated with increased odds for bullying victimization and perpetration. Findings were observed among girls; however, inequality was only associated with perpetration among boys. We identified social cohesion and psychosocial well-being as potential mediators. To counter the adverse effects of income inequality, school-based interventions designed to increase school connectedness and student psychosocial well-being should be implemented to protect against bullying.

To study the effect of a teachers' ban on supervising sports-related extracurricular physical activities (ECAs), levels of physical activity among 979 grade 7 students (mean age = 12.7 [0.5] years at baseline) were compared during and after the ban in seven schools that fully implemented the ban, and three schools that did not implement the ban fully. On average, schools offered 18.0 (SD = 5.1) ECAs during a no-ban school year. Students attending full implementation schools were significantly more likely than students in nonimplementation schools to be active after the ban ended (odds ratio for being active = 1.89 [95%confidence interval: 1.39,2.58]). They also increased the number of physical activities in which they participated (coefficient = 4.04;SE = 1.01). Ending a teachers' ban on sports-related ECAs was associated with increased involvement in physical activity among secondary school students. (Contains 3 tables and 1 figure.)

Depression and anxiety among adolescents are major public health concerns. Findings indicate that income inequality was associated with increased risk for depression and anxiety among adolescents; however, this has not been tested longitudinally. We aim to quantify the longitudinal association between income inequality and depression and anxiety among Canadian adolescents. We used longitudinal data on 21,141 students from three waves (2016/17–2018/19) of the Cannabis, Obesity, Mental health, Physical activity, Alcohol, Smoking, and Sedentary behavior (COMPASS) school-based study. Multilevel modeling was used to assess the association between census division (CD)-level income inequality and depressive and anxiety symptoms and odds for depression and anxiety over time. Across CDs, the mean Gini coefficient was 0.37 (range: 0.30, 0.46). Attending schools in CDs with higher levels of income inequality was associated with higher depressive scores (ß = 0.08; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.02, 0.14) and an increased odds for depression (odds ratio = 1.55, 95% CI = 1.06, 2.28) over time. Income inequality was not significantly associated with anxiety symptoms or experiencing anxiety over time. Additional analyses showed that income inequality was associated with higher depressive scores among females (ß = 0.10; 95% CI = 0.01, 0.18) and males (ß = 0.08, 95% CI = 0.01, 0.15) and for anxiety scores among females (ß = 0.13, 95% CI = 0.04, 0.22), but not among males (ß = −0.01, 95% CI = −0.09, 0.06). Findings from this study indicated that income inequality is associated with depression over time among adolescents. This study highlights key points of intervention for the prevention of mental illness in adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ObjectiveTo investigate the relationship between sweetened beverage consumption and depressive symptoms among adolescents.DesignIn a cross-sectional study, adolescents were asked how often they drank soda and fruit drinks in the past 7 d. Depressive symptoms were measured using a brief adapted version of the Modified Depression Scale. Summation scores were standardized using the Z-transformation. We used multilevel multiple linear regression models to estimate the association between soda and fruit drink consumption and depressive symptoms.SettingThe 2008 Boston Youth Survey.SubjectsAdolescents (n 1878), high-school students in grades 9–12 of Boston public schools, Massachusetts, USA.ResultsCompared with those who never drank soda in the past 7 d, those who consumed soda 2–6 times/week (β=0·18; 95 % CI 0·04, 0·32) or ≥1 times/d (β=0·29; 95 % CI 0·13, 0·45) had higher depressive symptoms. Similarly, those who consumed fruit drinks 2–6 times/week (β=0·14; 95 % CI 0·00, 0·28) and those who consumed ≥1 times/d (β=0·22; 95 % CI 0·04, 0·40) had higher depressive symptoms.ConclusionsFrequent consumption of both soda and fruit drinks is associated with greater depressive symptoms among adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: In light of geographical and epidemiological research suggesting that the socioeconomic environment beyond the family may influence children’s physical activity, this study investigated the extent to which neighbourhood socioeconomic conditions predict change in physical activity from ages 10 through 15 years, controlling for the attributes of the individual child and family. Data came from 889 children participating in the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development cohort study. Accelerometers measured Moderate-to-Vigorous Physical Activity (MVPA) during the week and weekend, when the children were aged 10, 11, and 15 years. Selected US census block variables were used to create ‘independent’ area measures of economic deprivation and social fragmentation scores for child’s area of residence at age 10 years. Also, parents’ perception of neighbourhood social cohesion was measured in terms of relationships with neighbours. All analyses controlled for participant characteristics: gender, ethnicity, household income-to-needs ratio, maternal education, and for United States region of residence. Growth curve analyses indicated that whereas social fragmentation did not predict MVPA over time, greater area deprivation at age 10 years was associated with lower weekday MVPA for boys at 10 years (β=−0.5, p =0.03) and these differences persisted to age 11 and 15 years. This relationship was reversed for girls. Weekend MVPA was not significantly associated with the level of deprivation in the place of residence at age 10 years. Although the census measure of social fragmentation in the area of residence showed no significant association with MVPA, parent-reported neighbourhood social cohesion was positively associated with weekday (β=2.0, p <0.01) and weekend (β=3.1, p <0.01) MVPA minutes across time. This association was most pronounced for boys. Area level factors may be determinants of physical activity among children and youth in complex ways and parental perception of area social environment may be as important for children’s activity levels as ‘independently assessed’ socioeconomic conditions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• Investigated income inequality and daily substance use among adolescents. • Increased Gini coefficient was associated with daily cannabis use. • We found no significant relationship between income inequality and daily smoking. • Increased Gini coefficient was associated with daily e-cigarette use only in girls. Cannabis, cigarette, and e-cigarette use among Canadian adolescents is a major public health concern. Income inequality has been associated with adverse mental health among youth and may contribute to the risk of frequent cannabis, cigarette, and e-cigarette use. We tested the association between income inequality and the risk of daily cannabis, cigarette, and e-cigarette use among Canadian secondary school students. We used individual-level survey data from Year 6 (2018/19) of Cannabis, Obesity, Mental health, Physical activity, Alcohol use, Smoking, and Sedentary Behavior (COMPASS) and area-level data from the 2016 Canadian Census. Three-level logistic models were used to assess the relationship between income inequality and adolescent daily and current cannabis use, cigarette smoking, and e-cigarette use. The analytic sample included 74,501 students aged 12–19. Students were most likely to report being male (50.4%), white (69.1%), and having weekly spending money over $100 (23.5%). We found that a standard deviation unit increase in Gini coefficient was significantly associated with increased likelihood of daily cannabis use (OR=1.25, 95% CI = 1.01–1.54) when adjusting for relevant covariates. We found no significant relationship between income inequality and daily smoking. While Gini was not significantly associated with daily e-cigarette use, we observed a significant interaction between Gini and gender (OR=0.87, 95% CI= 0.80–0.94), indicating that increased income inequality was associated with higher risk of reporting daily e-cigarette use among females only. An association between income inequality and the likelihood of reporting daily cannabis use across all students and daily e-cigarette use in females were observed. Schools in higher income inequality areas may benefit from targeted prevention and harm reduction programs. Results emphasize the need for upstream discussion on policies that can mitigate the potential effects income inequality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]