Healthy Relationships

Youth and young adults engage in many different types of relationships with people they know. This includes friendships and romantic relationships (dating). However, the relationship we have with ourselves is one of the most important. It helps us to see what being in a healthy relationship with others looks like, how to set boundaries and how to respect others with their boundaries. Building skills in friendship, conflict management, empathy and gratitude are important to relationships and building a healthy sense of self. 

Friendships and romantic relationships

Students with quality friendships, caring adults and supportive environments are less likely to engage in or be victims of bullying and participate better at school. Many resources are available to support the anti-bullying message. These include various professional development opportunities as well as resources for adults (including staff) and caregivers. 

Bullying and cyberbullying 

According to Ontario’s provincial legislation, bullying is defined as “repeated aggressive behaviour by a student where the behaviour is intended to have the effect of, or the student ought to know that the behaviour would be likely to have the effect of, causing harm, fear, or distress to another individual.” Bullying can appear as physical, social, psychological, and academic harm, as well as harm to an individual’s property or reputation. Often, bullying will happen where there are perceived or real power imbalances based on things such as gender identity, sexuality, race, ethnicity, religion, physical size, disability, and sexual orientation, among other factors.  

Every school board and/or school has their own policies and/or procedures related to bullying at school. Fostering a safe and inclusive environment at school is a priority. There are different activities and interventions that can be done within the school community to help achieve this. At times, this can be done with the help of community partners like us.   

Ontario’s legislation has defined cyberbullying as occurring “when a student engages in bullying behaviour electronically and includes activities such as: creating a web page or blog while pretending to be someone else, impersonating another person as the author of posted content or messages; or communicating material or messages to more than one person, or posting on an electronic platform that can be accessed by one or more persons”.  

Bullying directly impacts the mental health and wellbeing of victims in the long and short term. Research suggests that youth who are bullied over time are more likely to experience mental illnesses like depression and anxiety as well as physical symptoms such as headaches and stomach aches. As well, they are more likely to suffer from low self-esteem and want to avoid school. The mental health implications of bullying can last a lifetime. Those who engage in bullying on the other hand have been shown to experience more anti-social behaviours, substance use concerns, aggressive tendencies, and difficulties at school and throughout life.