A FOCUS on youth mental health and substance use-related outcomes, inequities and trajectories during COVID-19 and beyond: A mixed-methods study in Canada and France

The COVID-19 pandemic has presented the potential for lasting consequences for inequalities and vulnerabilities to manifest across subsequent stages of the life course - a trend that will have significant impacts on today's generation of adolescents and young adults ages 15-29 years. Globally, including within Canada and France, youth have experienced among the most severe social and economic consequences resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, with emerging evidence indicating that youth mental health and substance use (MHSU) inequities have deepened. The proposed three-year study will extend our team's existing mixed-methods Canada-France research infrastructure to focus on youth MHSU-related outcomes, inequities, and trajectories as Canada and France continue efforts to move into renewal and recovery. While each country shares some central commonalities (e.g., national health care systems), there are also important contextual differences (e.g., socio-political and -cultural differences; regulatory policies for substances, including cannabis and alcohol) that will benefit from comparative investigations across time. Specifically, we will conduct an annual national online repeat cross-sectional survey in both Canada and France with youth (n=7,000) that also features a nested virtual cohort (n=1,500). We will also conduct annual qualitative semi-structured interviews with youth from across different jurisdictions in Canada (n=30) and France (n=30). Throughout the duration of the proposed study we will engage in integrated knowledge translation and exchange (KTE) activities to systematically engage in rapid-cycle evaluation and advance actionable findings, including findings that are of relevance to national, federal and local policies and programs that can have an impact on youth MHSU-related outcomes.