PhD Student Isabella Thomas awarded Colonel Russell Mann Military, Veteran and Public Safety Families Research Award
From October 20-22nd 2025 the Canadian Institute for Military and Veteran Research Conference was hosted in Ottawa, Ontario, where PhD student Isabella Thomas presented her master's research on Canadian military-connected youth.
Isabella's master's thesis from Queen鈥檚 University in Canada focused on how peer support levels and problematic social media use of youth in military families differed from non-military-connected youth. This project used the largest Canadian dataset with responses from military-connected youth themselves, the HBSC survey. Youth in military families have unique experiences that can shape their health outcomes, which is why this research is important.
Isabella was awarded the Colonel Russell Mann Military, Veteran and Public Safety Families Research Award for my research 鈥淥nline communication and problematic social media use among military-connected youth in Canada鈥�. This award recognises high-quality Canadian research that deepens the understanding of the health, resilience and lived experiences of military, Veteran and public safety families.