Relationships with Parents & Other Adults

Indicator #29: Positive Parent Relationship

Indicator #30: Trusting Adult Relationship

Indicator 29: Percentage of BC students in grades 7–12 who report a positive relationship with their parents, as determined by the BC Adolescent Health Survey “Family Connectedness” scale.

Indicator 30: Percentage of BC students in grades 7–12 who report a trusting relationship with an adult outside of their family.

Jump to Figure Notes and Sources

If I were to have a fight with my parents, I would not be talking to another adult. I would Facebook or text with my friends because I feel more comfortable speaking to my friends. And technology makes it so much easier to contact them.

Key Messages

• Strong and supportive families as well as having caring adults outside the family are important protective factors in young peoples’ lives. Protective factors are elements of a young person’s life that foster healthy development, healthy decision-making, and healthy behaviours, even among those in challenging contexts.¹ This is an important social determinant of health, and supporting families and other adults to nurture children and youth is an important strategy for fostering the health and well-being of the next generation.²

• For a wide variety of family structures, there is a positive association between family caring and connectedness and youth health.³ Youth who report higher levels of family connectedness are more likely to make healthier decisions and report “good” or “excellent” overall health¹ and mental health.⁴

• Family connectedness is a general sense of belonging and closeness to family.⁵ Evidence shows that the more youth feel connected to their families, the less likely they are to be missing out on accessing needed health services, and the more likely they are to report “good” or “excellent” mental health.⁴ Research also shows that a strong connection to family leads to less risky behaviour in youth.^4,6

• Relationships with adults from outside the immediate family can also have a positive effect on child health outcomes, particularly on those children from disadvantaged backgrounds. 

• Having family connectedness and/or relationships with adults outside the family provides an adult figure for youth to talk to if they are having serious problems. This positive connection with an adult provides social support for a child or youth and can foster healthy behaviours.¹

• As shown in Figure 29.1, family connectedness increased slightly among all youth grades 7–12 from 2003 to 2013. Unfortunately, Figure 30.1 shows that the percentage of those who reported having a trusting relationship with an adult (or an adult they can speak to if they were having a serious problem) decreased slightly during the same time, particularly for females. 

• Both the declining trend shown in Figure 30.1 (from 87.6 per cent in 2003 to 81.6 per cent in 2013), as well as the fact that approximately 20 per cent of youth responded that they didn’t have an adult in or outside of their family to talk to if they had a serious problem, are concerning.

Figure Notes and Sources