Newcomer Girls' Mental Health: the Steepest Drop in Canada

Mental health has worsened for nearly every young person in Canada over the past decade — but when it comes to newcomer girls' mental health, the slide has been steeper than for everyone else. A national study of more than 76,000 Canadian students ages 11 to 15 found that migrant girls are being left behind on almost every measure of wellbeing, according to Medical Xpress.

The research, led by the University of Regina and the University of British Columbia and published in the Journal of School Health, is among the first Canadian studies to track migrant youth mental health over time and compare it with Canadian-born peers. It drew on the nationally representative Health Behavior in School-aged Children survey, with waves in 2014, 2018 and 2022. The headline finding on newcomer girls' mental health is hard to miss.

The steepest slide belongs to migrant girls

The numbers tell a sobering story. Among migrant girls, the share reporting high life satisfaction fell from 25.7 percent in 2014 to 19.9 percent in 2022. Those rating their health as good or excellent dropped from 81.6 percent to 68.2 percent, while feelings of sadness or hopelessness rose from 32.9 percent to 44 percent. Reports of multiple stress-related health complaints — headaches, stomachaches, sleep difficulties — climbed by 30 percent. Self-rated health declined among migrant boys as well, but the deterioration in newcomer girls' mental health stands out as the sharpest.

The team set out to compare the well-being of migrant youth with their nonmigrant peers over several years, said lead author Dr. Daniel Ji, an assistant professor of social work at the University of Regina. "It is rare to see a study that focuses on the mental well-being of migrant adolescents at the national level," Ji said, adding that the findings support putting more effort into migrant youth well-being across the country.

The authors point to the pandemic years as a likely accelerant. Ji said the results line up with other studies documenting a significant decline in mental well-being and a rise in stressors after COVID-19. One contributing factor, he suggested, is that the pandemic may have given rise to anti-Asian sentiments in Canada as in other parts of the world. To help interpret the trends, the team convened a youth advisory group of migrant young people from across Canada, who named the pandemic, cultural stigma, shifting attitudes toward cultural identity and the growing influence of social media as likely contributors to the decline in newcomer girls' mental health.

Canada is not alone — and girls everywhere are struggling most

Broader research backs up the pattern. A separate analysis of twenty years of survey data from British Columbia, covering more than 156,000 students, found that self-rated good or excellent mental health declined over time with the steepest drop among migrant girls, while self-harm rose substantially for migrant boys and girls. The two studies point to a shared dynamic: migration can build resilience, but it also exposes young people — especially girls — to compounding pressures that accumulate over time.

That context matters because immigrants now make up a growing share of Canada's population. Yet despite the worsening numbers, the study also surfaces real strengths. Migrant adolescents consistently reported fewer recurring health complaints than their Canadian-born peers. In 2022, migrant girls reported higher self-confidence than nonmigrant girls, and migrant boys reported fewer health complaints than nonmigrant boys. Adapting to migration, the researchers say, may help some young people build resilience through personal, family and community supports — a resilience that could also be a lever for improving newcomer girls' mental health.

What would actually help

Ji's prescription is practical and specific. "Schools are particularly well positioned to provide accessible mental health services because they reach young people regardless of family income or immigration status," he said, calling for expanded culturally safe school-based supports coordinated with community organizations. "Communities can help young people thrive by promoting inclusion and the value of diversity in school curriculum, as well as finding ways to engage youth in positive and prosocial activities like volunteering, sports and other activities that enhance the well-being of all adolescents," he added.

For readers who have recently moved to a new country — or who teach, coach or parent someone who has — the takeaway is that early erosion of wellbeing is happening at the population level, and that it is not a personal failure. The study's authors recommend supports that are affordable, culturally safe, confidential, and connected to community organizations. And the data's quieter message is worth holding onto: newcomer teens are not just struggling more than their peers; on confidence and physical complaints, some are doing better. Newcomer girls' mental health deserves both urgency and a strengths-based response. Both truths deserve attention.

Related reading: more social justice coverage, including the piece on how online harm holds teens back from gender equality. The decline in newcomer girls' mental health is the steepest measured — and the fix, researchers say, starts in schools.