Relationships are the Roots of Positive Development

Belonging and Connectedness for Halton Youth

Sociodemographic Characteristics

Behind The Numbers

Data to Action

About The Survey

Relationships Bulletin

Downloadable Graphics

Do young people in Halton have strong relationships and a sense of belonging, and how can we help them feel connected?

A bunch of students walk together with colorful backpacks on their back

Findings reflect the responses of 1915 youth in the 13 to 18 age range.

Belonging and relationships in Halton: the numbers

Belonging

Sixty-five percent of youth across Halton reported having a somewhat strong or very strong sense of belonging to their community. Having a sense of belonging was associated with positive self-rated physical and mental health, higher levels of life satisfaction, high Personal Power, having moderate to high self-esteem and lower levels of social isolation and feelings of loneliness

Girls living with a chronic illness or disability were less likely to feel they belonged to their community (compared to girls that did not report a chronic illness or disability).

Positive Relationships

Positive relationships are the roots of positive development. Eighty-eight percent of young people in Halton had at least one strong positive relationship with their family, friends, or teachers. Having at least one strong positive relationship was associated with positive self-rated physical and mental health, higher levels of life satisfaction, high Personal Power, moderate to high self-esteem, and lower levels of social isolation and feelings of loneliness.

Youth identifying as Indigenous and youth living with a chronic illness or disability were less likely to report having at least one strong positive relationship.

Youth rating their life satisfaction as high

Social Isolation and Loneliness

Twenty-four percent of youth felt isolated from others in their community, and 29% felt lonely. Girls and nonbinary youth, as compared to boys, youth living with a chronic illness or disability and youth identifying as Indigenous were more likely to report high levels of social isolation. Also, youth living in Milton and in Halton Hills were more likely to report high levels of social isolation compared to youth in Oakville.

Youth Expression

Fifty percent of youth in Halton felt confident to think or express their own ideas and opinions almost every day or every day. Having a sense of belonging to their community and positive relationships, not reporting feelings of loneliness, and experiencing low levels of social isolation were conditions more likely to be present for those who had high levels of youth expression. For example, those reporting having at least one positive relationship with their teachers, family or friends were almost twice as likely to report they felt confident to express their own ideas almost every day or every day compared to their peers who had not reported positive relationships.

Graph illustrating reported self expression confidence

Social Media

Youth in Halton reported spending a median time of 2 hours daily on social media to connect with friends. Twelve percent of youth did not spend any time at all on social media daily, and 22% spent 3.5 hours or more.

Youth reporting higher amounts of time (more than 3.5 hours) spent daily on social media were 28% more likely to report positive relationships with their friends, but there were no differences regarding belonging, social isolation, and loneliness.

Girls as compared to boys and youth in the 16 to 18 age range as compared to those in the 13 to 15 age range, were more likely to report higher amounts of time spent daily on social media. Youth identifying as Indigenous were less likely to spend higher amounts of time on social media on a typical day.

The majority of youth in Halton had access to the internet. Ninety-one percent reported that they often or very often use the internet when they want or need it. However, youth identifying as Indigenous and youth living with a chronic illness or disability were less likely to report the same level of access to the internet. Restrictions on internet access may impact social media use.

Limitations

These findings cover only responses of youth in the 13-18 age range
Open invitation sampling strategy (non-probabilistic)

Sample is not necessarily representative of all children and youth living in Halton.
It is not possible to determine a response rate.
However, considering the geographic coverage and the size of the final sample, it’s fair to assume that we have a reasonably good cross-section of children and youth living in Halton.

A higher degree of diversity within this sample calls for caution when interpreting overall ratios. For more details on the composition of the sample see the sociodemographic table
The data are meant to provide a snapshot of youth wellbeing during COVID, and caution should be used when comparing across time.
While each indicator is important, using multiple indicators as evidence of strengths and needs provides a more comprehensive representation
This is a self-report survey and several types of response bias have been identified related to self-report surveys. Use caution when interpreting the findings

Behind the Numbers →