All indicator definitions can be found in the accompanying 2023 Insights into Youth Mental Health and Well-being Indicator Dictionary.

Survey development and administration

Survey questions about mental health and well-being were developed by a workgroup consisting of representatives from Our Kids Network, the Halton District School Board, the Halton Catholic District School Board, and Halton Region Public Health. A different version of the survey was distributed, depending on the student’s grade (grade seven or ten) and school board (HDSB and HCDSB). In total, there were four versions of the survey.

For students at the HCDSB, the survey questions were asked as part of the bi-annual School Climate Survey, which was administered to students between April 12th and May 12th, 2023. For students in the HDSB, a standalone survey hosted by Our Kids Network was distributed to grade 7 and 10 students from May 8th, to June 16th, 2023.

For some survey questions, there were minor wording differences between the grade 7 and grade 10 versions of the survey, to ensure that questions were developmentally appropriate. In addition, several minor differences existed in question wording between the HCDSB and HDSB surveys. Results were carefully reviewed before combining data from the HCDSB and HDSB surveys to ensure that it was unlikely that differences in wording impacted student responses. A detailed list of all differences is provided in the Indicator Dictionary. The surveys were anonymous, and students had the option not to participate or to refuse to answer certain questions.

Analysis and statistical significance

Survey results from both the HCDSB and HDSB were combined and analyzed separately by grade. Survey questions were analyzed according to the indicator definitions outlined in the 2023 Insights into Youth Mental Health and Well-being Indicator Dictionary.

Overlapping 95% confidence intervals were used to determine statistical significance when making comparisons by gender (boy, girl, and another gender identity). A 95% confidence interval (CI) refers to a range of values that has a 95% chance of including the true estimate. When CIs do not overlap between two or more groups, it means that the differences between the groups are statistically significant and unlikely to be due to chance alone. All differences by gender described in this report were statistically significant.

Data release guidelines

Results were only released if the denominator included at least 30 respondents and the numerator included at least ten respondents to avoid the possibility of any individual students being identified based on their responses. In addition, coefficients of variation were calculated for each estimate. A coefficient of variation refers to the precision of an estimate. When the coefficient of variation is between 16.6 and 33.3, the estimate should be interpreted with caution due to high variability and marginal precision. These estimates are marked with an asterisk (*). Estimates with a coefficient of variation of 33.3 or higher were not reportable, and are marked with a double asterisk (**).