Abstract
Objectives
Most “homestay” high school students come to Canada from East Asian countries such as China, Korea and Japan to attend school while living with another family. Our objectives were to examine: 1 ) the characteristics of homestay youth compared to immigrant and Canadian-bom East Asian youth and 2) whether their health risk behaviours are similar to immigrant or Canadian-born East Asian youth.
Methods
We used the 2003 British Columbia Adolescent Health Survey to examine characteristics of East Asian youth and their health risk behaviours, including sexual behaviours, substance abuse, abuse history, and health status. Homestay students were those not born or raised in Canada and not living with their parent(s) or in foster care. Multivariate models tested for the independent association of student group, controlling for age.
Results
Homestay students (weighted n=3,085) were older, on average, than immigrant or Canadian-born youth and spoke a language other than English at home (p<0.001 ). Multivariate analyses showed that homestay students were more likely to engage in sexual behaviours than other youth and over 4 times more likely to have used cocaine. Female homestay students were 3 times more likely to be a victim of sexual abuse and were also 3 times more likely to use a substance prior to sex.
Conclusion
Homestay students remain a forgotten and extremely vulnerable group of youth, in part because they have special living arrangements. No one is currently held accountable for their health or safety. In the absence of health policy about homestay students, public health officials and providers have a central rale in ensuring the former’s health is not threatened.
Key words: Chinese, Japanese, Korean, immigrant, high school student, health behavior, homestay student
Résumé
Objectifs
La plupart des élèves du secondaire hébergés en milieu familial viennent au Canada de pays d’Asie de l’Est (Chine, Corée, Japon) pour fréquenter l’école tout en vivant dans une autre famille. Nos objectifs étaient d’examiner: 1) les caractéristiques des jeunes hébergés en milieu familial comparativement aux jeunes immigrants et aux jeunes d’origine est-asiatique nés au Canada et 2) leurs comportements présentant des risques pour la santé, pour voir s’ils sont semblables à ceux des jeunes immigrants ou des jeunes d’origine est-asiatique nés au Canada.
Méthode
À l’aide de l’enquête sur la santé des adolescents de la Colombie-Britannique (British Columbia Adolescent Health Survey, 2003), nous avons examiné les caractéristiques des jeunes Asiatiques de l’Est et leurs comportements présentant des risques pour la santé (comportements sexuels, toxicomanie, antécédents d’abus et état de santé). Les élèves hébergés en milieu familial étaient ceux qui n’étaient pas nés et n’avaient pas grandi au Canada et qui ne vivaient ni avec un ou deux parents, ni en famille d’accueil. Des modèles multivariés ont contrôlé l’association indépendante des groupes d’élèves en tenant compte des effets de l’âge.
Résultats
Les élèves hébergés en milieu familial (nombre pondéré n=3085) étaient plus vieux en moyenne que les jeunes immigrants ou les jeunes nés au Canada, et ils parlaient une langue autre que l’anglais à la maison (p<0,001 ). Des analyses multivariées ont montré que les élèves hébergés en milieu familial étaient plus susceptibles de s’adonner à des comportements sexuels que les autres jeunes et plus de 4 fois plus susceptibles d’avoir consommé de la cocaïne. Les filles hébergées en milieu familial étaient 3 fois plus susceptibles d’avoir été victimes de violence sexuelle et 3 fois plus susceptibles de consommer de l’alcool ou de la drogue avant d’avoir des relations sexuelles.
Conclusion
Les élèves hébergés en milieu familial forment un groupe extrêmement vulnérable qui est encore négligé, en partie en raison de leurs conditions de logement particulières. Personne n’a actuellement de comptes à rendre sur leur santé et leur sécurité. En l’absence d’une politique de santé pour les élèves hébergés en milieu familial, les autorités et les intervenants de la santé publique ont un rôle crucial à jouer pour veiller à ce que la santé de ces jeunes ne soit pas menacée.
Mots clés: Chinois, Japonais, Coréens, immigrants, élèves du secondaire, comportements liés à la santé, élèves hébergés en milieu familial
Footnotes
Acknowledgements: This study was supported by Dr. Wong’s Michael Smith Scholar Award (CI-SCH-051 ) and the Canadian Institute for Health Research New Investigator award, as well as Dr. Saewyc’s CIHR/PHAC Chair in Applied Public Health. The authors would like to acknowledge the McCreary Centre Society for permission to use the BC Adolescent Health Survey.
Conflict of Interest: None to declare.
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