Big Brothers Big Sisters Canada (BBBSC)
Teens @ Home Study
Alongside her colleague, Dr. Megan Ames at University of Victoria, Dr. Craig’s Teens @ Home study asked Canadian teens to complete a confidential online survey on the impact of COVID-19 and the anti-racism movement on teen mental health.
Two cohorts of youth completed the study. In the first cohort, a cross-sectional sample of 809 youth and 500 parents completed a survey during the first wave of COVID-19 (June/July 2020). In the second cohort, youth completed an online survey three times from 2020 to 2021. Every six months they were asked about their mental health, relationships with caregivers and mentors, and other health behaviours. Results from this study continue to be published.
Building Bigger Connections Study
Healthy relationships with adults can help build resiliency against negative outcomes among adolescents, and this study aims to gain a deeper understanding of why and how COVID-19 has impacted mentoring relationships for adolescents. In partnership with Big Brothers Big Sisters Canada (BBBSC), we conducted individual semi-structured interviews with BBBSC mentors and mentees to gather qualitative information on their perspectives on how the pandemic may have impacted mentoring relationships.
The results from this study have direct implications for improving services for youth, such as those offered by BBBSC, to account for the unique challenges of COVID-19. Further, as adolescents and adults continue to struggle with the aftermath of COVID-19, mentoring relationships will continue to be impacted. Results from this study will also inform BBBSC’s efforts to adapt its programs to online formats. Two SSHRC Partnership Engage Grants awarded to Dr. Craig supports this work.