Abstract
Objective
We examined the mediating role of positive coping skills in the relationship between community belonging and flourishing mental health among Canadian youth, while investigating variations across ethnoracial backgrounds.
Methods
Utilising data from the Canadian Community Health Survey-Mental Health Component 2012 cycle, we conducted a mediation analysis using a counterfactual framework on a nationally representative sample of 5,338 youth aged 15–29. The primary outcome, flourishing mental health, was measured using Keyes’ Mental Health Continuum. The mediating effect of positive coping skills on the relationship between community belonging and mental health was quantified, and subgroup analyses to compare this relationship in two subgroups of youth identifying as White versus those who do not identify.
Results
Positive coping skills accounted for 13.9% of the mediation pathway from community belonging to flourishing mental health. Notably, youth who did not identify as White demonstrated a stronger association between community belonging and flourishing, with a comparatively smaller portion of their pathway mediated by positive coping. The total, direct, and indirect effects indicated a significant positive relationship between community belonging and positive mental health, mediated by positive coping skills.
Conclusion
Positive coping skills significantly mediated the relationship between community belonging and flourishing mental health in Canadian youth. However, the strength and nature of this relationship varied across ethnoracial backgrounds, suggesting a potential need for tailored interventions. These findings have implications for clinicians in adopting strategies that not only foster positive coping skills but also promote community engagement and respect for cultural diversity, thereby supporting the mental health of all youth in Canada.
Keywords: Canadian youth, Positive coping skills, mental health, Ethnoracial background, sense of community belonging
Introduction
The influence of community belonging on mental health is a well-established phenomenon, yet the mechanisms underlying this relationship remain largely unexplored, especially among youth (1). Community belonging, recognised as a type of network-based social capital, has been linked to favorable mental health outcomes, including flourishing (2). While substantial research has underscored the association between social capital and mental health in adults, there is a noticeable gap in understanding these dynamics within specific population subgroups, particularly youth and those from diverse ethnoracial backgrounds (1,2). Given the heightened vulnerability and the unique developmental challenges during adolescence and early adulthood, it is crucial to understand the factors that protect and enhance the mental health of youth (3). Our study aimed to address this gap by examining the interplay between community belonging, positive coping, and mental health in youth, while highlighting potential variations across different ethnoracial backgrounds.
Young people aged 15–30 years are particularly vulnerable to developing adverse mental health outcomes (3), such as anxiety, depression, and mood disorders (4). These vulnerabilities are often exacerbated by social inequalities and disparities, particularly affecting youth from minority backgrounds (5). Thus, it is important to consider the intersectionality of sociodemographic factors, such as ethnoracial background, when examining the mental well-being of youth (6). Given these challenges, identifying and promoting protective factors is crucial (6). A strength-based perspective, which focuses on protective factors—contextual and individual resources—rather than risks or deficits, offers a promising approach to understanding and enhancing mental health (7).
Previous research has highlighted the importance of community belonging and positive coping skills in promoting youth mental health (8,9). The neighbourhood resource-based theory of social capital (10) and stress process theory (11, 12) provide frameworks for understanding how these factors, i.e., community belonging and positive coping skills may interact to promote positive mental health outcomes. It is posited that community-based social support, a key facet of community belonging (10), provides resources rooted in social networks for managing daily life stressors (11,12). Social Support is consistently identified as a key component in the stress process model, promoting functional and adaptive coping styles and thereby enhancing physical and mental well-being (11,13). However, there are very few empirical studies examining this specific mediation pathway by which community belonging and positive coping influence mental health. Our research aims to address this gap by examining how community belonging, as a form of social capital, is related to positive coping strategies, which in turn may affect mental health, offering insights into how protective factors interact to shape the mental health of youth.
Leveraging data from the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) and the Mental Health Component (CCHS-MH), we examined a potential pathway from youth’s sense of community belonging to their mental health, taking into consideration their coping skills. Our hypothesis, grounded in previous research and theoretical frameworks, postulates that positive coping strategies will mediate the pathway from community belonging to the positive mental health of youth. To elucidate the extent of this mediation, we undertake a mediation analysis to deconstruct the effect of community belonging on youth mental health into direct and indirect effects through positive coping skills. Research indicates that access to protective resources varies among youth from different ethnoracial backgrounds, as different cultures and communities emphasise distinct values and norms (14–16). Little research, however, has examined how experiences of belonging and coping with stress vary among youth from different ethnoracial subgroups. Our study further explored whether the hypothesised pathway of youth’s sense belonging to community and their mental health, taking into consideration their coping skills, functions differently among youth identifying as White compared to those who do not. We repeated mediation analyses by the ethnoracial backgrounds of youth, and adjusted for a comprehensive set of demographic, lifestyle, and health-related factors (16,17). In doing so, this study not only aims to contribute to the growing literature on the protective factors of youth mental health but also seeks to provide nuanced insights that can inform more targeted and effective strategies for fostering mental well-being in diverse youth populations.
Methods
Study Population/Sample
Data for this study were sourced from the Canadian Community Health Survey-Mental Health Component (CCHS-MH) 2012 cycle, constituting the most recent national mental health survey data for the Canadian youth population (18). The CCHS-MH, a nationally representative survey, employs a cross-sectional design to gather a wide range of information about the mental health and behavioural patterns of Canadians. It encompasses individuals aged 15 years and older residing across the ten provinces. The survey excludes certain demographics, notably full-time members of the Canadian Forces, individuals living on reserves, and those in collective dwellings, such as institutionalised populations. Data collection was conducted via computer-assisted personal interviews in participants’ homes or through telephone interviews, achieving a combined response rate of 68.9%. The analysis was confined to youth aged 15–29 years, aligning with the youth age group as delineated by Statistics Canada (19) (see Figure 1).
Figure 1.
Flow chart of the analytic sample selection using data from the Community Health-Mental Health Survey 2012 (CCHS-MH 2012)
Study Variables
Primary Outcome
The primary outcome was positive mental health, a derived variable from the CCHS-MH, measured using the 14-item Mental Health Continuum – Short Form (MHC-SF) tool (20). The 14-item tool has been used extensively in research in Canada. The tool measures emotional well-being (3 items; sample question: "In the past month, how often did you feel satisfied with your life?"), social well-being (5 items; sample question: "…how often did you feel that you had something important to contribute to society?") and positive psychological functioning (6 items; sample question: "…how often did you feel that your life has a sense of direction or meaning to it?"). Response options range from 1 (every day) to 6 (never). The construct validation analyses of this tool in the Canadian population, using the confirmatory factor analysis, showed a three-factor model comprising emotional, social, and Cronbach’s alpha for both emotional and psychological well-being subscales was 0.82; for social well-being, it was 0.77, indicating optimal reliability (21).
Using Keyes’ definition of flourishing( 20,22), a binary outcome variable was created for the analysis indicating whether youth were ‘flourishing’ or ‘not flourishing’. In line with previous research, participants were considered to be "flourishing" if they reported frequent positive experiences ("every day" or "almost every day") on at least one of the three items of emotional well-being and at least six of the eleven items measuring social or psychological well-being (22).
Exposure Variable
The exposure variable was the youths’ sense of community belonging, measured with the CCHS-MH item: "How would you describe your sense of belonging to your local community? Would you say it is. . .?". Response options were: "Very strong", "Somewhat strong", "Somewhat weak" and "Very weak". Consistent with previous research, "very strong" and "somewhat strong" responses were collapsed to indicate "strong belonging", and "somewhat weak" and "very weak" were collapsed to indicate "weak belonging" (23). This measure has been widely used in Canadian community health survey research; it is positively related to the number of people one knows and can count on when needed (24,25).
Moderator
To examine the moderating effect of ethnoracial background, the CCHS-MH’s item measuring racial identity was used. The original item asked, “You may belong to one or more racial or cultural groups on the following list (check up to four that apply): Are you White, South Asian (e.g., East Indian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan, etc.), Chinese, Black, Filipino, Latin American, Arab, Southeast Asian (e.g., Vietnamese, Cambodian, Malaysian, Laotian, etc.), West Asian (e.g., Iranian, Afghan, etc.), Korean, Japanese, and other”. However, due to the sensitive nature of this information and privacy reasons, Statistics Canada reported these data through a binary derived variable indicating if individuals identified as ‘White’ or in another way (referred to as ‘not White’). This binary variable was used in our analysis.
Mediator
The hypothesised mediator was the positive coping skills. It was assessed using two CCHS-MH items: 1) “How would you rate your ability to handle unexpected and difficult problems, for example, a family or personal crisis?” and 2) “How would you rate your ability to handle day-to-day demands (e.g., handling work, school, family and volunteer responsibilities)?” Both items were rated on a five-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (excellent) to 5 (poor). These two items have been found to be indicative of positive coping skills and have been examined for structural validity evidence in a Canadian armed forces sample in previous research (26). Consistent with previous research (26, 27), responses were recoded to re-categorise participants in these two items into very good/excellent ability, good ability, and fair/poor ability.
Covariates
We included a comprehensive set of covariates that have been associated with community belonging, coping skills, and mental health in past research. Sociodemographic factors (age, sex, education, income, employment status, marital status, and immigration status) were included because they are associated with access to community resources, coping mechanisms, and mental health outcomes (10, 25, 26, 28, 29). Lifestyle and environmental factors (living arrangements, urbanicity, physical activity, and spirituality) were included because they impact mental well-being and social integration, and affect the association between community belonging and mental health (25, 28, 30). Health-related factors (perceived health status, substance use, perceived stress, sleep disturbances, and co-morbid conditions) were included to control for underlying health conditions and stressors that could independently influence mental health and coping abilities (4,8,9,31) (see Figure 2 for conceptual diagram and Table S1 for CCHS-MH items these variables correspond to).
Figure 2.
Directed Acyclic Graph representing the hypothesized relationship between exposure, outcome, mediator, moderator, and other covariates in the study.
Ethics approval
The ethics for this study are covered under Article 2.2 of the Tri-Council Policy Statement (TCPS2), which outlines the ethical conduct of research involving humans in Canada. This policy doesn’t require ethics review for publicly available, anonymised data. Thus, the study was exempted from ethics board review.
Statistical Analysis
Preliminary Analysis
Distribution and Bivariate Associations
Initially, we assessed the distributions of all variables and the bivariate associations between the exposure (sense of community belonging), mediators (positive coping skills), and the outcome (positive mental health). We reported the extent of missing data across all variables, with missingness ranging from less than 1% to 3.7%. We used survey weights to obtain unbiased estimates of the population. See Table 1 for all bivariate associations.
Table 1.
Descriptive characteristics of study sample and bivariate associations with Positive Mental Health; Findings from CCHS-MH 2012
| Variables | Levels | Totala | Positive Mental Health | p valueb | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| |||||
| Flourishing | Not Flourishing | ||||
|
| |||||
| n=5338 | n=3960 | n=1378 | |||
| Sense of community Belonging | Strong | 3194 (59.1%) | 2670 (66.8%) | 524 (37.9%) | <0.001 |
|
| |||||
| Weak | 2144 (40.9%) | 1290 (33.2%) | 854 (62.1%) | ||
|
| |||||
| Sex | Females | 2831 (47.5%) | 2092 (47.4%) | 739 (47.7%) | 0.914 |
|
| |||||
| Males | 2507 (52.5%) | 1868 (52.6%) | 639 (52.3%) | ||
|
| |||||
| Age groups | 15 to 19 years | 1911 (34%) | 1456 (35.3%) | 455 (30.1%) | 0.086 |
|
| |||||
| 20 to 24 years | 1894 (32.3%) | 1370 (31.5%) | 524 (34.7%) | ||
|
| |||||
| 25 to 29 years | 1533 (33.7%) | 1134 (33.2%) | 399 (35.1%) | ||
|
| |||||
| Educational attainment | Less than secondary | 1448 (24.5%) | 1092 (25.1%) | 356 (22.8%) | 0.165 |
|
| |||||
| Secondary school graduation | 1039 (18.4%) | 737 (17.6%) | 302 (20.9%) | ||
|
| |||||
| At least some postsecondary education | 2851 (57.1%) | 2131 (57.4%) | 720 (56.4%) | ||
|
| |||||
| Annual incomec | < $80,000 CAD | 2999 (50.2%) | 2139 (48.2%) | 860 (55.6%) | 0.003 |
|
| |||||
| ≥ $80,000 CAD | 2339 (49.8%) | 1821 (51.8%) | 518 (44.4%) | ||
|
| |||||
| Marital statusd | Has a spouse/or a partner | 1137 (21.5%) | 895 (22.4%) | 242 (19.3%) | 0.138 |
|
| |||||
| Single/widow/separated | 4201 (78.5%) | 3065 (77.6%) | 1136 (80.7%) | ||
|
| |||||
| Living arrangement | Living alone/Unattached | 1222 (18.6%) | 858 (17.5%) | 364 (21.6%) | 0.155 |
|
| |||||
| Living with spouse/partner | 1025 (18.6%) | 806 (19.3%) | 219 (16.8%) | ||
|
| |||||
| Living with parent(s) | 2547 (52.5%) | 1898 (52.8%) | 649 (51.7%) | ||
|
| |||||
| Other | 544 (10.2%) | 398 (10.4%) | 146 (9.9%) | ||
|
| |||||
| Immigrant status | Yes | 717 (18.4%) | 522 (17.1%) | 195 (22.1%) | 0.025 |
|
| |||||
| No | 4621 (81.6%) | 3438 (82.9%) | 1183 (77.9%) | ||
|
| |||||
| Ethnoracial background | White | 4018 (70.3%) | 3008 (71.9%) | 1010 (66.1%) | 0.019 |
|
| |||||
| Not identifying as White | 1320 (29.7%) | 952 (28.1%) | 368 (33.9%) | ||
|
| |||||
| Working statusf | Does not have a job or is unable to work | 1879 (32.4%) | 1362 (32%) | 517 (33.6%) | 0.483 |
|
| |||||
| Has job | 3459 (67.6%) | 2598 (68%) | 861 (66.4%) | ||
|
| |||||
| Living in a Census Metropolitan Area |
Yes | 3398 (77.4%) | 2453 (76.3%) | 945 (80.5%) | 0.02 |
|
| |||||
| No | 1940 (22.6%) | 1507 (23.7%) | 433 (19.5%) | ||
|
| |||||
| Region of living | Atlantic | 1108 (6%) | 844 (6%) | 264 (6%) | 0.418 |
|
| |||||
| British Columbia | 592 (12.5%) | 405 (12.1%) | 187 (13.7%) | ||
|
| |||||
| Ontario | 1151 (39.7%) | 851 (39.1%) | 300 (41.3%) | ||
| Prairies | 1558 (18.7%) | 1187 (19.3%) | 371 (17%) | ||
|
| |||||
| Quebec | 929 (23.1%) | 673 (23.5%) | 256 (22%) | ||
|
| |||||
| Strong sense of spirituality | Yes | 1836 (36%) | 1450 (38.1%) | 386 (30.4%) | 0.001 |
|
| |||||
| No | 3502 (64%) | 2510 (61.9%) | 992 (69.6%) | ||
|
| |||||
| Any co-morbid condition | Yes | 2368 (40.1%) | 1613 (37%) | 755 (48.7%) | <0.001 |
|
| |||||
| No | 2970 (59.9%) | 2347 (63%) | 623 (51.3%) | ||
|
| |||||
| Any mental or substance use problem | Yes | 974 (17.3%) | 496 (11.7%) | 478 (32.6%) | <0.001 |
|
| |||||
| No | 4364 (82.7%) | 3464 (88.3%) | 900 (67.4%) | ||
|
| |||||
| Perceived life stresses | Less stressful | 1973 (37.1%) | 1626 (41.7%) | 347 (24.4%) | <0.001 |
|
| |||||
| A bit stressful | 2416 (44.4%) | 1758 (42.5%) | 658 (49.6%) | ||
|
| |||||
| Highly stressful | 949 (18.5%) | 576 (15.8%) | 373 (26%) | ||
|
| |||||
| Perceived health | Fair/Poor | 301 (4.8%) | 141 (2.8%) | 160 (10.2%) | <0.001 |
|
| |||||
| Good | 1439 (26.2%) | 927 (22.5%) | 512 (36.2%) | ||
|
| |||||
| Excellent/Very good | 3598 (69%) | 2892 (74.6%) | 706 (53.6%) | ||
|
| |||||
| Trouble sleeping | Yes | 645 (11.7%) | 347 (8.9%) | 298 (19.6%) | <0.001 |
|
| |||||
| No | 4693 (88.3%) | 3613 (91.1%) | 1080 (80.4%) | ||
|
| |||||
| Moderate to Vigorous physical activity | Yes | 4416 (83.1%) | 3340 (84.8%) | 1076 (78.3%) | <0.001 |
|
| |||||
| No | 922 (16.9%) | 620 (15.2%) | 302 (21.7%) | ||
|
| |||||
| Ability to handle unexpected problems | Fair/Poor | 730 (12.8%) | 359 (7.7%) | 371 (26.6%) | <0.001 |
|
| |||||
| Good | 1696 (31.6%) | 1190 (29.4%) | 506 (37.4%) | ||
|
| |||||
| Excellent/Very good | 2912 (55.7%) | 2411 (62.8%) | 501 (36%) | ||
|
| |||||
| Ability to handle day-to-day demands | Fair/Poor | 317 (5.6%) | 122 (2.7%) | 195 (13.6%) | <0.001 |
|
| |||||
| Good | 1515 (28.7%) | 947 (23.8%) | 568 (42.3%) | ||
|
| |||||
| Excellent/Very good | 3506 (65.7%) | 2891 (73.5%) | 615 (44.1%) | ||
Proportions were calculated based on weighted frequencies; the frequencies presented here represent the size of the unweighted sample. Weights ranged from 29 to 32061 and correspond to the number of persons in the entire population that the respondent represents.
Rao–Scott χ2 test for bivariate between-group analysis
Cutoff was based on the median total income of Canadian families in 2011–2012, and missing values were imputed (using the nearest neighbour donor approach) by Statistics Canada.
43 participants were widowed/separated in the total sample: 34 in flourishing and 9 in not flourishing.
Grouped by Statistics Canada. Participants not identifying as White included South Asian, Chinese, Black, Filipino, Latin American, Arab, Southeast Asian, West Asian, Korean and Japanese.
23 participants were disabled/unable to work in the total sample: 10 in flourishing and 13 in not flourishing.
Groupings of provinces and territories established by Statistics Canada for reporting purposes.
Mediation Analysis Framework
Methodological Approach
We conducted a mediation analysis following the counterfactual framework-based weighting approach (32). This approach allows for the deconstruction of the total effect of community belonging to mental health into two components: a natural direct effect (NDE) and a natural indirect effect (NIE), mediated through positive coping skills. (see Figure 2). All statistical analyses were performed using R (version 4.0.3), utilising ‘survey’, ‘MASS’ and ‘nnet’ packages for the statistical analyses.
Weighting Procedure
Mediation weights were generated from models predicting the mediator variables (i.e., positive coping skills), which are distinct from the survey weights used for population adjustment. An expanded dataset was created, incorporating both actual and counterfactual exposures for each participant, to develop these weights. Final weights combining mediation and survey weights were used in the analysis to ensure Canadian population-based interpretations of the odds ratios (Ors).
Effect Estimation
Analyses were adjusted for a comprehensive set of covariates, including demographic, lifestyle, and health-related factors, to account for potential confounding. Two hundred and fifty (250) bootstrap replicates were used to estimate variance and 95% confidence intervals for the effect sizes, ensuring robustness in the estimates: (a) Total Effect, calculated as the product of NDE and NIE. (b) Direct and Indirect Effects: NDE and NIE were estimated separately, with the indirect effect representing the mediation effect of positive coping skills. (c) Proportion Mediated: The proportion of the total effect mediated by positive coping skills was calculated on the logarithm scale, dividing the indirect effect by the total effect (33). (see Figure 2).
Subgroup Analysis
We repeated the mediation analysis for subgroups of youth identifying as White versus those not identifying as White to examine potential differences in mediation pathways across ethnoracial groups.
Sensitivity Analyses
Although both mediators report experiences of coping with stress, they may operate independently in the hypothesised model due to differences in frequency (e.g., day-to-day vs. unexpected crises). To test the assumption of mediator independence, a sensitivity analysis was conducted in which one mediator (e.g., coping with day-to-day stressors) was regressed on the other (e.g., coping with unexpected stressors), while controlling for community belonging and other covariates.
This analysis was also conducted using survey-weighted regression.
Result
Sample Characteristics
The study analysed a total of 5,338 Canadian youth, categorising them into flourishing (n = 3,960; 69%) and not flourishing (n = 1,378; 25.8%) based on their mental health status (Table I). A higher proportion of flourishing youth reported strong community belonging (66.8%) compared to those who were not flourishing (37.9%). Conversely, a higher proportion of non-flourishing youth reported a weak sense of belonging (62.1%). Youth from higher-income households (≥80,000 CAD), not living in census metropolitan areas, and with a strong sense of spirituality were more likely to be flourishing. Conversely, youth who did not identify as White, those with immigrant status, or those reporting health problems were less likely to be flourishing. No significant differences in flourishing status were found by sex, age, education, marital status, living arrangement, working status, or region of living.
Mediation Analysis Results
Total, Direct, and Indirect Effects. In building a multivariable logistic regression model, backwards elimination removed sex and region of living, while collinearity assessment removed living arrangement. A survey-based Wald test subsequently removed age and education from the model. The final model was adjusted for annual income, working status, marital status, immigrant status, living in a census metropolitan area (CMA), perceived health, a strong sense of spirituality, co-morbid conditions, substance use or mental health problems, perceived life stresses, trouble sleeping, and moderate to vigorous physical activity. A positive association was found between a strong sense of community belonging and positive mental health (OR 2.95; 95% CI 2.43, 3.66). The natural direct effect (NDE) of community belonging on positive mental health was significant (OR 2.54; 95% CI 2.10, 3.23), as was the natural indirect effect (NIE) through positive coping skills (OR 1.19; 95% CI 1.10, 1.32), accounting for 13.9% of the total effect (Table II).
Table 2.
Estimates of total, direct and indirect effects stratified by ethnoracial background from survey-weighted logistic regression of Positive Mental Health with sense of community belonging among Canadian youth from CCHS-MH 2012
| Overall sample | Ethnoracial background | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| White | Not identifying as White. | ||
| Adjusted OR [95% CI] | Adjusted OR [95% CI] | Adjusted OR [95% CI] ⱡ | |
| Total effect | 2.95 [2.43, 3.66] | 2.51 [2.05, 3.31] | 4.38 [2.92, 7.29] |
| Direct effect | 2.54 [2.10, 3.23] | 2.15 [1.74, 2.87] | 3.81 [2.60, 6.35] |
| Indirect effect combined | 1.19 [1.10, 1.32] | 1.19 [1.10, 1.33] | 1.17 [1.06, 1.36] |
| Ability to handle day to day demands | 1.09 [1.05, 1.15] | 1.09 [1.05, 1.15] | 1.08 [1.03, 1.17] |
| Ability to deal with unexpected problem | 1.07 [1.03, 1.12] | 1.07 [1.03, 1.13] | 1.06 [1.02, 1.13] |
| Proportion mediated combined | 13.9% [6.1%, 23.8%] | 16.9% [7.8%, 29.3%] | 9.5% [3.3%, 20.2%] |
| Ability to handle day to day demands | 7.9% [3.8%, 13.0%] | 9.7% [4.8%, 15.9%] | 5.3% [2.0%, 11.1%] |
| Ability to deal with unexpected problem | 6% [2.3%, 10.8%] | 7.2% [3.0%, 13.4%] | 4.2% [1.3%, 9.0%] |
| n=5338 | n=4018 | n=1320 | |
CI calculated using 250 samples from the bootstrap technique
Note: In building a multivariable logistic regression model, backward elimination removed sex and region of living, and collinearity assessment removed living arrangement, and a survey-based Wald test removed age and education from the model. Final model was adjusted for annual income, working status, marital status, immigrant status, living in census metropolitan area (CMA), perceived health, strong sense of spirituality, co-morbid condition, substance use or mental health problem, perceived life stresses, trouble sleeping and moderate to vigorous physical activity.
Subgroup Analysis by Ethnoracial Background
White youth exhibited a lower direct effect (OR 2.15; 95% CI 1.74, 2.87) compared to youth who did not identify as White (OR 3.81; 95% CI 2.60, 6.35). The indirect effect through positive coping skills was similar across ethnoracial backgrounds. Still, the proportion mediated was lower in youth who did not identify as White (9.5%) compared to White youth (16.9%) (Table 2).
Sensitivity Analysis
The assumption of independence between mediators (day-to-day stressors and unexpected stressors) was evaluated. Results indicated statistical significance for one category of mediator and non-significance for the other, suggesting potential interdependence.
Discussion
Study Overview and Key Findings
This study aimed to investigate the relationship between community belonging and positive mental health in Canadian youth, with a particular focus on the role of positive coping skills. Unlike most research that focuses on maladaptive coping and the ensuing mental health issues, our study contributes to the growing research on protective factors like belonging and positive coping in enhancing youth’s mental health outcomes.
Mediation by Positive Coping Skills
Several key findings resulted from this study. First, as hypothesised, positive coping skills partially mediated the pathway from the sense of community belonging to positive mental health in youth. This suggests that experiencing a sense of community belonging contributed to enhanced coping skills, which in turn contributed to positive youth mental health. This finding is consistent with the research that has identified positive coping skills as a mediator in the pathway from social experiences to mental well-being in adults (8,31), and that a positive, safe, and supportive social environment in one’s community can act as a resource for better coping with everyday life challenges (1,26,34). Our findings align with the neighbourhood-based social capital and stress process theories (10,11), which propose that resources embedded in social relationships within the community support positive coping skills. Specifically, they suggest that social support stemming from a strong sense of community belonging can encourage individuals to perceive a difficult situation as challenging or manageable, rather than a threat or loss, thereby indirectly promoting psychological well-being (10,11,35). While our results support positive associations among community belonging, coping and well-being, they do not directly demonstrate that community belonging changes how youth perceive difficult situations.
Differential Impact of Community Belonging on Mental Health
Another finding was the variation in the direct effect of community belonging on mental health across different ethnoracial backgrounds of youth. Youth not identifying as White showed a stronger association with flourishing mental health when they reported strong community belonging compared to their White counterparts. While the ethnoracial categorisations in our study were broad, these results illuminate the potential of leveraging sociocultural and community resources to alleviate stress impacts, particularly among minority groups. This finding warrants deeper examination across the spectrum of minority groups and settings.
Recent research conducted in Western contexts has illuminated the moderating role of ethnoracial background in relation to community belonging, a network-based social capital and mental health. A study conducted with an ethnically diverse and nationally representative population in the U.S. showed that racial and ethnic identity functions as a buffer in moderating the psychological burden associated with discrimination for selective groups such as Asian and Black Americans, compared to White Americans (36). A separate U.S. study found that participants, such as those identifying as African American and Hispanic, who live with their own ethnic group and have community support tended to report better health outcomes than their White peers (37). Conversely, research from the U.K. showed that despite the higher levels of community connectedness in some ethnic minority groups (i.e., South Asians compared to Whites), social connectedness with the community did not mitigate higher levels of psychological distress (38). These inconsistencies underscore the need for more nuanced research to understand the complex interplay of racial and ethnic identity, coping skills, and other protective factors in promoting youth mental health.
Varied Mediation Effects across Ethnoracial Backgrounds
Another key finding that emerged from our study was the variation in the strength of the mediating pathway from sense of belonging to positive mental health, depending on the youth’s ethnoracial background. Specifically, for youth not identifying as White, the mediated proportion of effect from the sense of belonging to mental health by positive coping skills was smaller compared to the effect among those who identified as White. This finding contributes to the existing literature on the relationship between race and ethnicity, sense of community belonging, and positive mental health in young people (16, 17). There are several possible explanations for this finding. First, youth identifying with an ethnoracial background other than White in Canada tend to experience more racialisation and discrimination in society (39). Experiences of racialisation and discrimination, in turn, have been negatively related to the sense of community belonging, positive coping, and positive mental health (39,40). In fact, previous research with the CCHS has found racial disparities in health outcomes between racialised and non-racialised youth in Canada, with youth identifying as White reporting better health outcomes across three indicators of health (i.e., diabetes, hypertension, and self-rated health) (5). Second, even in the presence of strong social bonds, research has shown that experiences of racialisation among youth identifying with ethnoracial minority groups are associated with higher levels of perceived stress, which may jeopardise their coping resources and compromise their psychological well-being (38,40). Overall, the findings suggest that there may be other unmeasured processes contributing to the relationship between community connectedness and mental health in this subgroup of youth. Future studies will help to gain a better understanding of why this network based social capital and positive coping skills may play a different role in youth mental health with different ethnoracial backgrounds.
Limitations and Future Directions
Several limitations need to be considered. First, given that Statistics Canada provided the ethnoracial background data in binary form (‘White’ vs. ‘not White’), we could not examine the differences in well-being between youth within the ‘non-White’ group. Specific experiences that are unique to youth from specific ethnoracial subgroups, and group differences need to be examined in future research with data that provides details about youth’s ethnoracial backgrounds. Furthermore, the absence of bootstrap weights and specific design information, such as strata and primary sampling units, in the publicly available data file, which was necessary to maintain confidentiality, could have underestimated our variability measures. However, the estimated CIs for all the analyses were far from the null value. Moreover, self-reporting on all variables could have led to underreporting and measurement errors. Furthermore, collapsing the moderate and languishing categories into a single ‘not flourishing’ category reduces specificity in our findings. Youth who are moderately flourishing may experience better mental health and coping abilities than those who are languishing, limiting nuanced insights into the mental health needs and coping strategies of youth across different well-being levels.
Additionally, the present study was cross-sectional, and therefore causal claims about the direction of relationships cannot be made. Finally, 2012 is the most recent time when data on mental health supplements were collected through the Canadian national health survey, and the social landscapes of communities may have changed since then. Future studies should replicate the present findings and further investigate the pathways of association over time.
In summary, this study highlights the role of community belonging and positive coping skills in promoting the mental health of Canadian youth. The varying degrees of positive association between community belonging, positive coping skills and mental health across youth from different ethnoracial backgrounds suggest that culturally sensitive interventions could be a potential way forward for supporting youth mental well-being. These findings can inform future research and the development of programs aimed at building resilience among Canadian youth from diverse backgrounds and supporting their overall well-being.
Conclusions
Utilising a nationally representative sample of Canadian youth, our study indicates that positive coping skills significantly mediate the relationship between community belonging and positive mental health. Importantly, we found that these associations vary across different ethnoracial backgrounds of youths, underscoring the potential need for tailored approaches to mental health interventions. These insights could guide policymakers, researchers, and health professionals in designing and implementing strategies that leverage these protective factors to enhance the well-being of diverse youth populations.
Supplementary Table S1.
List of Covariates from the CCHS-MH 2011 Survey included in the analysis
| Covariate | Variable name | Variable label |
|---|---|---|
| Positive | Mental Health PMHDCLA (derived variable based on PMHDHEM, PMHDHFU, PMHDLEM, PMHDLFU) | Positive mental health - classification - (D) |
| Community Belonging | GEN_10 | Sense of belonging to the local community |
| Positive Coping Skills | STS_1 | Self-perceived ability to handle unexpected problems |
| STS_2 | Self-perceived ability to handle day-to-day demands | |
| Ethnoracial background | SDCGCGT (derived variable based on SDC_Q07) | Culture/Race Flag - (G) |
| Age | DHHGAGE | Age-grouped variable |
| Sex | DHH_SEX | Sex |
| Education | EDUDR04 | Highest level of education - respondent |
| Region of living | GEO_PRV | Province of the resident of the respondent |
| Living arrangements | DHHGLVG | Living/Family arrangement of the selected respondent |
| Income | INCGHH | Total household income from all sources |
| Working status | LBSDWSS | Working status last week |
| Immigrant status | SDCFIMM | Immigrant |
| Marital status | DHHGMS | Marital status |
| Living in CMA | GEOGCMA1 | 2011 census metropolitan area |
| Perceived health | GEN_01 | Self-perceived health |
| Spirituality | SPT_02 | Spiritual values - strength for everyday difficulties |
| Co-morbid or any chronic health conditions | CCCF1 | Has any chronic condition |
| Substance use or mental health problems | MHPFY | Any mental or substance-related disorder in the past 12 months |
| Perceived life stress | GEN_07 | Perceived life stress |
| Sleep disturbances | GEN_04 | Trouble sleeping |
| Physical activity levels | PHSFPPA | Moderate or vigorous physical activity in the past 7 days |
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Associated Data
This section collects any data citations, data availability statements, or supplementary materials included in this article.
Supplementary Materials
Supplementary Table S1.
List of Covariates from the CCHS-MH 2011 Survey included in the analysis
| Covariate | Variable name | Variable label |
|---|---|---|
| Positive | Mental Health PMHDCLA (derived variable based on PMHDHEM, PMHDHFU, PMHDLEM, PMHDLFU) | Positive mental health - classification - (D) |
| Community Belonging | GEN_10 | Sense of belonging to the local community |
| Positive Coping Skills | STS_1 | Self-perceived ability to handle unexpected problems |
| STS_2 | Self-perceived ability to handle day-to-day demands | |
| Ethnoracial background | SDCGCGT (derived variable based on SDC_Q07) | Culture/Race Flag - (G) |
| Age | DHHGAGE | Age-grouped variable |
| Sex | DHH_SEX | Sex |
| Education | EDUDR04 | Highest level of education - respondent |
| Region of living | GEO_PRV | Province of the resident of the respondent |
| Living arrangements | DHHGLVG | Living/Family arrangement of the selected respondent |
| Income | INCGHH | Total household income from all sources |
| Working status | LBSDWSS | Working status last week |
| Immigrant status | SDCFIMM | Immigrant |
| Marital status | DHHGMS | Marital status |
| Living in CMA | GEOGCMA1 | 2011 census metropolitan area |
| Perceived health | GEN_01 | Self-perceived health |
| Spirituality | SPT_02 | Spiritual values - strength for everyday difficulties |
| Co-morbid or any chronic health conditions | CCCF1 | Has any chronic condition |
| Substance use or mental health problems | MHPFY | Any mental or substance-related disorder in the past 12 months |
| Perceived life stress | GEN_07 | Perceived life stress |
| Sleep disturbances | GEN_04 | Trouble sleeping |
| Physical activity levels | PHSFPPA | Moderate or vigorous physical activity in the past 7 days |