Community Belonging and Flourishing in Youth: The role of Positive Coping and Racial and Ethnic Identity

Abstract Objectives Community belonging, and positive coping are two distinct protective factors contributing to positive mental health in youth. It is currently unknown whether these two factors shape youth mental health independently or whether community belonging shapes youth mental health through an indirect pathway of positive coping. To address this gap, we evaluated the mediating role of positive coping skills in the relationship between community belonging and positive mental health in youth. We further explored if the mediation pathway through positive coping skills differs between youth who self-identify as White versus those who do not. Methods We analyzed data from a nationally representative sample of 5,338 Canadian youth (15–29 years old; 47.5% female). We performed a mediation analysis using a counterfactual approach adjusting for national survey design and key demographic, lifestyle and health-related factors. Results We found that positive coping skills mediated the relationship between community belonging and positive mental health in Canadian youth (effect mediated was 13.9%; 95% CI 6.1–23.8%). Furthermore, compared to youth identifying as White, those who did not have a higher likelihood of flourishing more directly from experiencing a stronger sense of belonging than indirectly through positive coping skills. Conclusions Our findings suggest that part of the association between community belonging, and mental health can be explained through enhanced positive coping skills in youth. The strength of the pathway differs by youths' racial and ethnic backgrounds. Thus, community connectedness and positive coping - understood as protective mechanisms - can be targeted for mental health promotion in youths.