A cross-sectional study of mental health and well-being among youth in military-connected families.

Introduction: The study objective was to compare the mental health and risk-taking behaviour of Canadian youth in military-connected families to those not in military-connected families in a contemporary sample. We hypothesized that youth in military-connected families have worse mental health, lower life satisfaction and greater engagement in risk-taking behaviours than those not in military-connected families.

Methods: This cross-sectional study used 2017/18 Health Behaviour in School-aged Children in Canada survey data, a representative sample of youth attending Grades 6 to 10. Questionnaires collected information on parental service and six indicators of mental health, life satisfaction and risk-taking behaviour. Multivariable Poisson regression models with robust error variance were implemented, applying survey weights and accounting for clustering by school.

Results: This sample included 16 737 students; 9.5% reported that a parent and/or guardian served in the Canadian military. After adjusting for grade, sex and family affluence, youth with a family connection to the military were 28% more likely to report low well-being (95% CI: 1.17-1.40), 32% more likely to report persistent feelings of hopelessness (1.22-1.43), 22% more likely to report emotional problems (1.13-1.32), 42% more likely to report low life satisfaction (1.27-1.59) and 37% more likely to report frequent engagement in overt risk-taking (1.21-1.55).

Conclusion: Youth in military-connected families reported worse mental health and more risk-taking behaviours than youth not in military-connected families. The results suggest a need for additional mental health and well-being supports for youth in Canadian military-connected families and longitudinal research to understand underlying determinants that contribute to these differences.