Karen A. Patte, PhD

Associate Professor, Health Sciences
Canada Research Chair in Child Health Equity and Inclusion

Office: STH 319
905 688 5550 x3882
kpatte@brocku.ca

My research focuses on youth mental health and inequities. Applying socioecological framework and systems sciences approaches, I am interested in the psychosocial, behavioural, and environmental predictors of mental health and ill-health. My goal is to advance understanding of how different contexts and exposures shape health trajectories over time, to inform more effective and equitable preventative practice, policy, and programs.

With training in the health sciences, psychology, public health, and counselling, and collaborating across disciplines, my research draws from multiple approaches. I use population-level prospective and quasi-experimental designs, and more recently, employ mixed methods and integrated Knowledge Translation (iKT) approaches.

I completed a MA and PhD in Kinesiology and Health Science and a Doctoral Diploma in Health Psychology at York University, a Mental Health and Addictions counselling graduate certificate, followed by a Postdoctoral Fellowship in the School of Public Health and Health Systems at the University of Waterloo. My experience spans from clinical front-line counselling for severe-and-enduring mental illness and substance use disorders to my early research on psychogenetic risk factors for obesity and eating disorders, to my more recent population-level primary prevention and health promotion school-based research on youth health.

  • Mental health and substance use
  • Obesity, eating disorders, unhealthy weight control behaviours, and weight perceptions
  • Weight stigma/bias
  • School health
  • Public health and school-based program and policy evaluation
  • Movement behaviours (sleep, physical activity, and sedentary behaviour)
  • Health inequities
  • Youth engagement
  • Socioecological models of health
  • Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs)
  • Duncan MJ*, Riazi NA*, Faulkner G, Gilchrist JD, Leatherdale ST, Patte KA. The Association of Physical Activity, Sleep, and Screen Time with Mental Health in Canadian Adolescents During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Longitudinal Isotemporal Substitution Analysis. Mental health and Physical Activity. Accepted September 8, 2022.
  • Battista K*, Patte KA, Diao L, Dubin JA, Leatherdale ST. Examining interpersonal and behavioural factors associated with youth anxiety, depression, and flourishing: a decision tree analysis. International Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research. 2022;19(17):10873. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191710873
  • Krzeczkowski JE, Wade TJ, Andrade BF, Brown D, Yalcinoz-Ucan B, Riazi NR*, Tagalaskis A, Yates E, Patte KA. Examining the mental health of siblings of children with a mental disorder: A scoping review protocol. PLoS ONE. Accepted August 25, 2022. In press.
  • Butler A*, Doggett A, Vermeer J, Magier M*, Patte KA, @Maginn D, Leatherdale ST. Shifting school health priorities pre-post cannabis legalization in Canada: Ontario secondary school rankings of student substance use as a health-related issue. Accepted for publication in the Canadian Journal of Public Health in August 2022. In press.
  • Patte KA, Wade TJ, MacNeil AJ, Bélanger RE, Duncan MJ*, Riazi N*, Leatherdale ST. Support for mask use as a COVID-19 public health prevention measure among a large sample of Canadian secondary school students. BMC Public Health 2022;22:1598. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-14011-0
  • Battista K*, Diao L, Dubin JA, Patte KA, Leatherdale ST. Examining the use of decision trees in population health surveillance research: An application to youth mental health survey data in the COMPASS study. Accepted to the Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention (HPCDP) Journal. In press.
  • Romano I*, Patte KA, de Groh M, Jiang Y, Leatherdale ST. Perceptions of and adherence to early COVID-19-related restrictions and associations with substance use among youth in Canada. Accepted to the Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention (HPCDP) Journal. In press.
  • Duncan MJ*, Riazi NA*, Faulkner G, Gilchrist JD, Leatherdale ST, Patte KA. Changes in Canadian Adolescent Time Use and Movement Guidelines during the Early COVID-19 Outbreak: A Longitudinal Prospective Natural Experiment Design. Journal of Physical Health and Activity. 2022. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1123/jpah.2021-0691.
  • Lien A, Sampasa-Kanyinga H, Patte KA, Leatherdale ST, Chaput JP. Sociodemographic and mental health characteristics associated with changes in movement behaviours due to the COVID-19 pandemic in adolescents. Accepted for publication in the Journal of Activity, Sedentary and Sleep Behaviors on March 10 2022. In press.
  • Williams G*, Patte KA, Ferro MA, Leatherdale ST. Exploring the bidirectional associations between poly-substance use and anxiety and depression among a large sample of Canadian adolescents. Canadian Journal of Addiction. 2022;13(2):7-16.
    MacDonald KB, Patte KA, Leatherdale ST, Schermer JA. Loneliness and screen time usage over two years. Journal of Adolescence. 2022;94(3):318-332. https://doi.org/10.1002/jad.12024
  • Magier M*, Leatherdale ST, Wade TJ, Patte KA. How do school disciplinary approaches and student perceptions of school support relate to youth cannabis use? Accepted for publication in Substance Use and Misuse. 2022;57(6):897-910.
  • Hammami N, Patte KA, Battista K*, Livermore M*, Leatherdale ST. Examining the role that weight perception and social influences have on mental health among youth in the COMPASS study. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology. 2022;57(8):1671-1684. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-022-02219-9
  • Benny C, Patte K, Veugelers P, Leatherdale ST, Papayo R. Income inequality and depression among Canadian secondary students: Are psychosocial well-being and social cohesion mediating factors? Social Science Medicine – Population Health. 2021;17:100994. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmph.2021.100994
  • Duncan MJ*, Leatherdale ST, Patte KA. Do you Really Want to be Forever Young? Emotional Health and Psychosocial Well-being by Relative Birth Quarter in Canadian Adolescents. Journal of Adolescent Health. 2022;70(4):625-633. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2021.10.034
  • Romano I*, Patte KA, de Groh M, @iang Y, Wade TJ, Bélanger RE, Leatherdale ST. Substance-related coping behaviours among youth during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Addictive Behaviors Reports. 2021;14:100392 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.abrep.2021.100392
  • Romano I*, Ferro M, Patte KA, Leatherdale ST. Measurement invariance of the GAD-7 and CESD-R-10 among adolescents in Canada. Journal of Pediatric Psychology 2022;47(5):585-594. https://doi.org/10.1093/jpepsy/jsab119
  • Williams G*, Patte KA, Ferro MA, Leatherdale ST. Associations between longitudinal patterns of substance use and anxiety and depression symptoms among Canadian secondary school students. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 2021;18(19):10468. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph181910468
  • Buchan MC*, Romano I*, Butler A*, Laxer RE, Patte KA, Leatherdale ST. Bi-directional relationships between physical activity and mental health among Canadian youth: a sex-stratified analysis of students in the COMPASS study. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity 2021;18:132.
  • Sampasa-Kanyinga H, Colman I, Dumuid D, Janssen I, Goldfield G, Wang JL, Patte KA, Leatherdale ST, Chaput JP. Longitudinal association between movement behaviours and depressive symptoms among adolescents using compositional data analysis. PLoS ONE 2021;16(9): e056867.
  • Bélanger RE†, Patte KA†, Leatherdale ST, Gansaonré RJ, Haddad S. An impact analysis of the early months of COVID-19 pandemic on mental health in a prospective cohort of Canadian adolescents. Journal of Adolescent Health 2021;69(6):917-924.† shared first authors.
  • Leatherdale ST, Bélanger R, Gansaonré RB, Patte KA, deGroh M, Jiang Y, Haddad S. Examining the impact of the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic response on youth cannabis use: adjusted annual changes between the pre-COVID and initial COVID-lockdown waves of the COMPASS study. BMC Public Health 2021;21(1):1181.
  • Patte KA, Livermore M*, Qian W, Leatherdale ST. Do weight perception and bullying victimization account for links between weight status and mental health among adolescents? BMC Public Health 2021;21:1062.
  • Doggett A, Gohari MR, Godin K, Ferro MA, Patte KA, Leatherdale ST. Cannabis use, screen time, internalizing symptoms among Canadian youth: testing mediation pathways. Substance Use and Misuse. 2021;56(8):1232-1240.
  • Vine M, Vermeer J, Romano L, Harrington DW, Butler AE*, Patte KA, Godin KM, Leatherdale ST. Secondary school nutrition policy compliance in Ontario and Alberta, Canada: A follow-up study examining vending machine data from the COMPASS Study. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 2021;18(7):3817.
  • Cole AG, Laxer RE, Patte KA, Leatherdale ST. Can we reverse this trend? Exploring health and risk behaviours of grade 12 cohorts of Ontario students from 2013-2019. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 2021;18(6):3109.
  • Magier M*, Leatherdale ST, Wade T, Patte KA. Disciplinary approaches for cannabis use policy violations in Canadian secondary schools. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 2021, 18, 2472.
  • Duncan MJ*, Patte KA, Leatherdale ST. Mental health associations with academic performance and education behaviours in Canadian secondary school students. Canadian Journal of School Psychology 2021;36(4):335-357.
  • Williams G*, Patte KA, Ferro M, Leatherdale ST. Substance use classes and symptoms of anxiety and depression among Canadian secondary school students. Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention in Canada: Research, Policy and Practice 2021;41(5).
  • Barratt J, Patte KA, Battista K*, Leatherdale ST. The Impact of Changes in Physical Education Class Enrollment on Moderate-to-Vigorous Physical Activity among a large sample of Canadian youth. Journal of School Health 2021;91(12):1030-1036.
  • Murphy J*, Patte KA, Sullivan P, Leatherdale ST. Exploring the Association between Sport Participation and Symptoms of Anxiety and Depression in a sample of Canadian High School Students. Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology 2021;15(3):268-287.
  • Gilchrist J, Battista K*, Patte KA, Faulkner G, Carson V, Leatherdale ST. Effects of Reallocating Physical Activity, Sedentary Behaviors, and Sleep on Mental Health: A Cross-Sectional Examination of Canadian Adolescents in the COMPASS Study. Mental Health and Physical Activity 2021;20:100380.
  • Patte KA, Gohari M, Leatherdale ST. Ethnic differences in school connectedness among youth. Multicultural Education Review. Patte KA, Gohari M, Leatherdale ST. Ethnic differences in school connectedness among youth. Multicultural Education Review 2021;13(1):64-84.
  • Patte KA, Cole A, Qian W, Magier M*, Vine M, Leatherdale ST. Are closed campus policies associated with youth eating behaviours? Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention in Canada: Research, Policy and Practice 2021;41(3):73-84.
  • Doan N*, Romano I*, Butler A*, Laxer RE, Patte KA, Leatherdale ST. Weight control intentions and mental health among adolescents: a gender-based analysis. Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention in Canada. 2021;41(4);1-12.
  • Romano I*, Ferro MA, Patte KA, Diener E, Leatherdale ST. Measurement invariance of the Flourishing Scale among a large sample of Canadian adolescents. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 2020;17(21):7800.
  • Doan N*, Patte KA, Ferro MA, Leatherdale ST. Reluctancy towards help-seeking for mental health concerns at secondary school among students in the COMPASS study. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 2020;17:7128.
  • Livermore M*, Leatherdale ST, Duncan MJ*, Patte KA. Weight status, weight perception, and academic performance among youth. Journal of Eating Disorders 2020;8:52.
  • Weatherson K, Gierc M, Patte K, Qian W, Leatherdale S, Faulkner G. Complete mental health status and association with physical activity, screen time, and sleep in youth. Mental Health and Physical Activity 2020;19:100354.
  • Magier M*, Patte KA, Battista K*, Cole AG, Leatherdale ST. Are school substance use policy violation disciplinary consequences associated with student engagement in cannabis? International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 2020;17(15):5549.
  • Duncan MJ*, Patte KA, Leatherdale ST. Hit the chronic… physical activity: are cannabis associated mental health changes in adolescents attenuated by physical activity? Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology 2021;56(1):141-152.
  • Faulkner G, Weatherson K, Patte K, Qian W, Leatherdale ST. Are one-year changes in adherence to the 24-hour movement guidelines associated with flourishing among Canadian youth? Preventive Medicine 2020;139:106179.
  • Patte KA, Faulkner G, Qian W, Duncan M*, Leatherdale ST. Are one-year changes in adherence to the 24-hour movement guidelines associated with depressive symptoms among youth? BMC Public Health 2020;20:793.
  • Patte KA, Qian W, Leatherdale ST. Predictors of one-year change in how youth perceive their weight. Journal of Obesity 2020; article ID:7396948: 15 pages.
  • Probst C, Elton-Marshall T, Imtiaz S, Patte KA, Rehn J, Sornpaisarn B, Leatherdale ST. A supportive school setting may reduce the risk of non-medical prescription opioid use due to impaired mental health among students. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. 2021;30(2):293-301.
  • Holligan S, Qian W, de Groh M, Jiang Y, Patte KA, Battista K*, Leatherdale ST. Binge Drinking and Educational Participation among Youth in the COMPASS Host Study (Year 5: 2016/2017): School Connectedness and Flourishing as Compensatory Factors. Canadian Journal of Family and Youth 2020;12(3):55-77.
  • Romano I*, Butler A*, Patte KA, Ferro MA, Leatherdale ST. High school bullying and mental disorder: an examination of the association with flourishing and emotional regulation. International Journal of Bullying Prevention 2020;2:241-252
  • Patte KA, Davis CA, Levitan RD, Kaplan AS, Carter-Major J, Kennedy JL. A behavioural genetic model of the mechanisms underlying the link between obesity and symptoms of ADHD. Journal of Attention Disorders 2020;24(10):1425-1436.
  • Romano I*, Williams G*, Butler A*, Aleyan S, Patte K, Leatherdale ST. Psychological and behavioural correlates of cannabis use among Canadian secondary school students Findings from the COMPASS Study. Canadian Journal of Addiction 2019;10(3):10-21.
  • Butler A*, Romano I*, Patte KA, Ferro MA, de Groh M, Jiang Y, Leatherdale ST. Psychological correlates and binge drinking behaviours among Canadian youth: a cross-sectional analysis of the mental health pilot data from the COMPASS Study. BMJ Open 2019;9:e028558.
  • Patte KA, Qian W, Cole AG, Faulkner G, Chaput J-P, Carson V, Leatherdale ST. School start time changes in the COMPASS study: associations with youth sleep duration, physical activity, and screen time. Sleep Medicine 2019;56:16-22.
  • Butler A*, Patte KA, Ferro M, Leatherdale ST. Interrelationships among depression, anxiety, flourishing, and cannabis use in youth. Addictive Behaviors 2019;89:206-215.
  • Patte KA, Qian W, Leatherdale ST. Modifiable predictors of insufficient sleep durations: A longitudinal analysis of youth in the COMPASS study. Preventive Medicine 2018;10:164-170.
  • Patte KA, Cole AG, Qian W, Leatherdale, ST. Youth sleep durations and school start times: a cross-sectional analysis of the COMPASS study. Sleep Health. 2017;3(6):432-436.
  • Patte KA, Qian W, Leatherdale ST. Sleep duration trends and trajectories among youth in the COMPASS study. Sleep Health 2017;3(5):309-316.
  • Patte KA, Qian W, Leatherdale ST. Binge drinking and academic aspirations, engagement, and performance: A longitudinal analysis among secondary school students in the COMPASS study. Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention in Canada 2017;37(11):376-385.
  • Davis C, Patte K, Zai C, Kennedy JL. Polymorphisms of the Oxytocin Receptor Gene (OXTR) and Overeating: The Mediating Role of Endophenotypic Risk Factors. Nutrition and Diabetes 2017;7:e279
  • Patte KA, Qian W, Leatherdale ST. Is Binge Drinking Onset Timing Related to Academic Performance, Engagement, and Aspirations among Youth in the COMPASS Study? Substance Use and Misuse 2017;52(13):1795-1800.
  • Patte KA, Laxer RE, Qian W, Leatherdale ST. An analysis of weight perception and physical activity and dietary behaviours among youth in the COMPASS study. Social Science & Medicine – Population Health 2016;2:841-849.
  • Patte KA, Qian W, Leatherdale ST. Marijuana and alcohol use as predictors of academic aspirations and achievement: a longitudinal analysis among secondary school students in the COMPASS study. Journal of School Health 2017;87(5):310-318.
  • Godin KM, Patte KA, Leatherdale ST. Examining predictors of breakfast skipping and school breakfast program use among secondary school students in the COMPASS study. Journal of School Health. 2018;88(2):150-158.
  • Vine MM, Harrington D, Butler A, Patte K, Godin K, Leatherdale S. Compliance with school nutrition policies in Ontario and Alberta: An assessment of secondary school vending machine data from the COMPASS study. Canadian Journal of Public Health 2017;108(1):e43-48.
  • Patte KA, Leatherdale ST. Are Ontario Secondary School teachers supported in the delivery of healthy eating and weight-related initiatives? Physical Health and Education Journal 2016;82(3).
  • Patte KA, Laxer R, Qian W, Leatherdale ST. A cross-sectional analysis of weight perception and weight-control intentions among secondary school students in the COMPASS study. American Journal of Health Behavior 2016;40(5):614-623.
  • Patte KA, Leatherdale ST. A cross-sectional analysis examining the association between dieting behaviours and alcohol use among secondary school students in the COMPASS study. Journal of Public Health 2017;39(2):321-329.
  • The Mental Health of Children and Youth
  • Physical Activity in Child and Youth Health
  • The Health of Children
  • Experiential Learning in Child Health

– Adjunct Professor, School of Public Health and Health Systems, University of Waterloo;

– Member, Mental Health and Physical Activity Research Centre (MPARC);

– Member, Institute for Lifespan Development Research, Brock University;

– Member, Brock Niagara Centre of Excellence in Inclusive and Adaptive Physical Activity

COMPASS Study: I am the Co-Lead of the CIHR funded Cannais, Obesity, Mental health, Physical activity, Alcohol, Smoking, and Sedentary behaviour (COMPASS) Study.

COMPASS is an ongoing (started in 2012/13 and currently funded until 2027/28) prospective cohort study that uses a hierarchical quasi-experimental design to evaluate how programs, policies, and built environments impact various youth health behaviours, outcomes, and correlates (e.g., substance use [tobacco, vaping, alcohol, cannabis, opioids], mental health, obesity, diet, physical activity, screen time, sleep, bullying) over time. Each year, COMPASS collects longitudinal data from ~70,000 grade 9-12 students and 130+ secondary schools across Canada (Ontario, Alberta, BC, Quebec, Nunavut, PEI). I led the development, testing, and implementation of the COMPASS Mental Health Module, and the integration of youth engagement within the study. Funded by CIHR and Sick Kids Foundation, we are evaluating the sustained impact of the COVID-19 pandemic response of youth health and inequities, over time.

Student in hallway

Shaping the direction of youth health

The COMPASS system is a research platform for evaluating natural experiments and generating practice-based evidence in school-based prevention.

COVID-19 Prevention Pixel Colouring Book

Spotless Sammy the Sanitizer helps English speaking school-aged children in grades 5 to 8 learn more about the importance of COVID-19 preventative measures with this pixel colouring book created by students for students.