The COVID-19 pandemic and related school disruptions have led to increased concerns for the mental health of teachers. This study investigated how the challenges and systemic supports perceived by teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic were associated with their mental health and workplace well-being. This cross-sectional, survey-based study was conducted in February 2021, just prior to the third wave of the pandemic in British Columbia (BC), Canada (N = 1,276). Four multivariable linear regression models examined the associations between teachers’ pandemic-related challenges (pandemic-related personal stressors, teacher workload, difficulty implementing safety measures, meeting students’ needs), systemic supports (education system mental health and well-being support), and four mental health (psychological distress, and quality of life) and workplace well-being outcomes (job-related positive affect, turnover intentions), adjusting for sociodemographic and school characteristics. The Pratt index (d) was used to assess the relative importance of each predictor. A thematic qualitative analysis was conducted on teachers’ open-ended responses. Teachers’ workplace well-being (job-related positive affect and turnover intentions) was predominantly associated with their perceptions of education system support for their mental health and well-being (d = 46%, d = 41%, respectively). The most important predictor of general mental health (psychological distress and quality of life) was the number of COVID-19 related personal stressors teachers reported (d = 64%, d = 43%, respectively). The qualitative analyses corroborated and expanded upon the quantitative findings. Understanding pandemic-related challenges and supports impacting teacher mental health and workplace well-being equips us to make evidence-informed policy decisions to support teachers now and in future school disruptions.

Introduction: This study examined profiles of social connectedness among early adolescents in grade 7 before the COVID‐19 pandemic was declared (Winter 2020), and in grade 8 during the second Wave of the pandemic (Winter 2021).Method: Linked data from 1753 early adolescents (49% female) from British Columbia, Canada who completed the Middle Years Development Instrument survey in grades 7 and 8 were used. Participants reported on life satisfaction, depressive symptoms, and connectedness with peers and adults at home, school and in the community. We used Latent Profile Analysis to identify connectedness profiles at both time points, and Latent Transition Analysis to examine transitions in connectedness profiles over time. Multiple regression analyses examined the associations between profile membership in grade 7 and mental well‐being in grade 8, and the associations between transitions in profile membership (i.e., increase vs. decrease in connectedness over time) and mental well‐being.Results: Connectedness in multiple domains in grade 7 was related to significantly higher levels of mental well‐being in grade 8, controlling for demographics, well‐being in grade 7, and COVID‐related mental health worries. Well‐being was highest when students felt highly connected in all domains and lowest when they felt lower levels of connection. Increases in connectedness were associated with improvements in mental well‐being and decreases with a decline in well‐being over time.Conclusions: Experiencing connectedness with peers and adults is critical for the mental well‐being in early adolescence. Providing opportunities to connect is important in the context of major societal challenges such as the COVID‐19 pandemic.

This study examined pathways from prosocial behaviour in the beginning of the school year to emotional health and academic achievement in the end of the year, taking into account the mediating role of peer acceptance. Participants were 734 grade 4 to 7 students in public elementary schools (51% female) in Western Canada. As expected, pathway analyses taking into account the clustered structure of the data indicated that self-reported prosocial behaviour in the beginning of the school year was significantly related higher levels of self-reported optimism, lower levels of depressive symptoms, and better grades in the end of the year; the association was mediated by peer-reported peer acceptance in the classroom. Findings support the role of peer acceptance as an underlying mechanism involved in the association between prosocial behaviour and positive developmental health outcomes in early adolescence. Findings are also practically relevant as they inform school-based social-emotional competence promotion through interventions.

Adolescent mental well-being has declined in the past decade. Much research relies on administrative data and population-based research incorporating youth voices and exploring protective factors for mental well-being is scarce. This study examined trends in adolescent mental well-being from 2015 to 2022 in British Columbia (BC), Canada. We examined sex differences in the trends, the role of protective factors in school, and the relative importance of protective factors for mental well-being. We drew from self-report data from eight years of implementation (2015-2022) of the Middle Years Development Instrument (MDI) with grade 7 students (N = 69,391; 49 % girls) in schools. Positive (satisfaction with life; SWL) and negative (depressive symptoms) mental well-being indicators were examined over time using a repeated cross-sectional design. Analyses were stratified by sex. The presence of 0-3 protective factors (adult support at school, peer belonging, school connectedness) and SES were covariates. SWL significantly declined and depressive symptoms significantly increased across the study period and for most adjacent study years. Girls had significantly lower well-being and a steeper decline than boys. For the subset of students who scored high on all protective factors, the decline in well-being was attenuated but not eliminated and the sex gap was reduced. The decline in well-being and the protective nature of modifiable protective factors identified in our study highlight the need for population-level mental health strategies that can be implemented in partnership with school districts.

Background: Insufficient physical activity, excessive recreational screen time, and inadequate sleep pose health risks in school-aged children and adolescents. The Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines for Children and Youth advocate for balanced daily movement behaviours. This population-level study in British Columbia (BC), Canada, examined the proportion of young adolescents following these guidelines and how adherence correlated with their mental well-being. Methods: Using cross-sectional self-report data from 26,974 grades 6–8 children (48% girls, mean age = 13.31) who had completed the Middle Years Development Instrument (MDI) in BC in 2023, we calculated the percentages of children meeting physical activity (at least 1 h daily), sleep (9 + hours for 5- to 13-year-olds, 8 + for > 13-year-olds), and screen time (no more than 2 h daily) recommendations. Eight groupings were created, indicating how many and which movement behaviour guidelines were met: none, sleep only, physical activity only, screen time only, physical activity and sleep, physical activity and screen time, sleep and screen time, and all three behaviours. Mean differences in depressive symptoms, optimism, and satisfaction with life scores across categories were estimated through sex-stratified linear mixed models, adjusting for covariates. Results: Four percent of adolescents met all recommendations, while 15% met none. Meeting some or all recommendations was associated with higher levels of optimism and satisfaction with life, and lower levels of depressive symptoms compared to meeting none. Beneficial effects were overall larger for girls, and largest for depressive symptoms among girls meeting all recommendations versus none (-1.05, 95% CI [-1.14, -0.96]). Conclusions: Adherence to the Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines was associated with higher levels of well-being, but most grades 6–8 adolescents in our study did not meet the recommendations. Given sex differences in meeting the movement behaviour recommendations, public health strategies need to consider targeted interventions aimed at improving adherence to these guidelines, particularly focusing on reducing recreational screen time and increasing physical activity.