Healthy settings for young people in Canada – Socio-economic conditions

Socio-Economic Conditions

by William Boyce

What is socio-economic status? Why does it matter?

How are socio-economic conditions measured by the HBSC study?

In the HBSC study, students were asked to identify their parents’ types of occupations; if parents were not employed, students were requested to give a reason for the economic inactivity. The study asked young people about perceptions of their family’s wealth in comparison to the wealth of other families.

Students were also asked questions about their family’s material assets, and its use of wealth, as a reflection of family income. Responses were combined to create a family affluence scale that is used in future chapters.

The study gathered information about household deprivation by asking students how often they went to bed hungry due to a lack of food in the house. (This question could measure either family functioning or household wealth.) Similarly, students were asked about their neighbourhood surroundings, including particular conditions that might impact on their health, such as the presence of gangs, litter, and run-down housing.

What are we reporting on in this section?

In this section, we report on the findings related to parent occupation, perceived family wealth, family affluence, and deprivation in the form of hunger and poor neighbourhood conditions, and what they indicate in terms of disparities in the SES of Canada’s young people. We also describe the family affluence scale that was developed for use in examining the relationship between SES and adolescent health behaviours and outcomes.

Family wealth among Canadian students

Text Equivalent - Figure 2.39

Figure 2.39 illustrates that just over onehalf of Canadian students perceive their families to be quite well off or very well off. This proportion decreases for older students, perhaps as they gain a better understanding of their family’s actual financial situation. Overall, boys are slightly more likely than girls to report that their families are quite well off or very well off.

Across grades and genders, only about 10 to 15% of students report not having their own bedroom (Figure 2.40). Over 70% of school-aged young people state that their families own two or more vehicles. About 20% of students report not having been on any holidays. Over 50% of students report that their families own two or more computers. In addition, about 85% of students across all grades state that they have access to the Internet at home (not shown).

Text Equivalent - Figure 2.40

Deprived conditions

Figure 2.41 illustrates that a significant proportion of students, especially younger ones, sometimes go to bed hungry. For example, 20% of boys, compared with 18% of girls, report that they sometimes go to bed hungry, although this tends to decrease in the older grades. Those who indicate that they always or often go to bed hungry are in a smaller minority.

Text Equivalent - Figure 2.41

While 10% of students indicate that their local area is not well off, 58% report that their neighbourhood is well off (Figure 2.42).

Forty-seven percent of young people surveyed report that there are problems with groups causing trouble in the neighbourhood and with litter (Figure 2.43). Over 20% report that there are run-down houses or buildings locally.

Text Equivalent - Figures 2.42 and 2.43

Socio-economic conditions

Summary