One in ten Ontario students have carried a weapon

One in ten 7th to 12th grade students in Ontario reported carrying a weapon at least once in the last year according to survey findings released today by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). This represents 9.6% or 90,200 students across Ontario. Weapon carrying among students has steadily declined over the past decade.

The study also found that 7.7% representing about 73,200 students across Ontario report being threatened or injured with a weapon on school property at least once in the past year.

This eBulletin highlights the findings from CAMH's 2003 Ontario Student Drug Use Survey (OSDUS), which surveyed students in grades 7 to 12 across the province. OSDUS is the longest ongoing school survey of adolescent drug use and mental health indicators in Canada.

The eBulletin is a regular electronic publication of the CAMH Population and Life Course Studies Unit focussing on current research related issues. To receive future issues of the eBulletin, please e-mail Sylvia Hagopian, Media Relations Coordinator, at Sylvia_Hagopian@camh.net. Copies of all the eBulletins are also available in PDF format at the following website: <http://www.camh.net/research/research_population_ebulletins.html>

The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) is a Pan American Health Organization and World Health Organization Collaborating Centre and a teaching hospital fully affiliated with the University of Toronto.