Sexual health behaviors declined across all adolescent groups from 2014 to 2022, with migrant youth experiencing steeper declines, particularly in condom use and dual contraception use, with migrant boys increasingly more likely to use neither contraceptive method.
Key Findings
Results
Migrant girls were less likely to report sexual experience compared to non-migrant girls across all survey waves, and this gap remained consistent in 2018 and 2022.
Data were drawn from the Canadian Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study across three waves: 2014, 2018, and 2022
The disparity in sexual experience between migrant and non-migrant girls did not significantly widen or narrow over the eight-year period
Age-adjusted logistic regressions were used, stratified by migrant status and sex, with non-migrants as the referent group and 2014 as the referent year
Results
Migrant boys were less likely to report sexual experience in 2018 compared to non-migrant boys.
This difference in sexual experience was specific to the 2018 wave for boys
The analysis used age-adjusted logistic regression with Canada-born youth as the referent group
The study examined whether disparities widened, narrowed, or remained stable across years
Results
Sexual health behaviors declined across all adolescent groups from 2014 to 2022, with migrant youth experiencing especially pronounced declines.
Declines were observed in sexual experience, condom use, contraceptive pill use, and dual method use
The declines were described as especially affecting migrants compared to non-migrants
The trend analysis spanned eight years (2014, 2018, 2022) using nationally representative HBSC data
Results
Migrant boys were less likely than Canada-born youth to use condoms in 2022.
This condom use disparity was identified specifically in the 2022 wave
The gap in condom use between migrant and non-migrant boys was a newly emerged or widened disparity by 2022
Condom use was assessed at last intercourse
Results
Contraceptive pill use was lower among migrant girls in 2022 compared to non-migrant girls, though this gap narrowed over time.
The disparity in pill use among girls was present in 2022 but the gap narrowed relative to earlier years
Contraceptive pill use was measured at last intercourse
Migrant boys were also less likely to report contraceptive pill use in 2018, and this gap similarly narrowed
Results
Dual method contraception use (condom plus contraceptive pill) was lower in 2022 among both migrant girls and migrant boys compared to non-migrants.
Both migrant girls and boys showed lower dual method use specifically in the 2022 wave
Dual method use was assessed at last intercourse
This represents a disparity that emerged or persisted into the most recent survey wave
Results
Migrant boys were more likely than non-migrant boys to use neither contraceptive method in 2018 and 2022, and this gap widened over time.
The disparity in 'neither method' use among boys was present in both 2018 and 2022
Notably, this gap widened over the study period, indicating a growing divergence between migrant and non-migrant boys
'Neither method' use refers to reporting use of no contraceptive method at last intercourse
This was the only disparity identified as widening over the eight-year study period
Methods
The study used data from the Canadian Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study across three national waves, analyzing sexual health behaviors disaggregated by migrant status and sex.
Survey years analyzed were 2014, 2018, and 2022
Outcomes included sexual experience, condom use, contraceptive pill use, dual method use, and neither method use, all assessed at last intercourse
Age-adjusted logistic regressions were conducted separately for boys and girls, with non-migrants as the referent group and 2014 as the referent year
The study examined contrasts for disparities by year to test whether differences widened, narrowed, or remained stable
What This Means
This research studied how sexual health behaviors changed over eight years (2014–2022) among Canadian teenagers, comparing young people who immigrated to Canada (migrants) with those born in Canada. The data came from a large, nationally representative survey called the Canadian Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study. The researchers looked at whether teenagers reported being sexually active, and whether they used condoms, contraceptive pills, both methods together (dual method), or no method at all during their last sexual encounter.
The study found that sexual health behaviors — including condom use and contraceptive use — declined among all groups of teenagers over this period, but the declines were steeper among migrant youth. Migrant girls were consistently less likely to report sexual activity than non-migrant girls, and by 2022, both migrant girls and boys were less likely to use dual contraception. Migrant boys were increasingly likely to report using no contraceptive method at all, and this gap compared to non-migrant boys grew larger over time. Migrant boys were also less likely to use condoms by 2022.
This research suggests that migrant adolescents in Canada face growing gaps in safer sexual health practices compared to their Canada-born peers. The authors recommend improving access to contraception and developing culturally safe and relevant sexual health information and services specifically tailored to migrant youth. These findings highlight the need for public health programs to consider the unique circumstances and barriers faced by immigrant and refugee teenagers when designing sexual health interventions.
Ji D, Rana M, Coronel-Villalobos M, Hammami N, Saewyc E. (2025). Sexual health behavior trends in a nationally representative sample of Canadian migrant adolescents from 2014 to 2022.. BMC public health. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-23966-9