Ontario Teens Continue to Exhibit Troubling Behaviour

The 2007 Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey (OSDUHS) revealed that Ontario’s youth are experiencing a different kind of high -- approximately seven percent (an estimated 79,000 students in grades 7 to 12) report participating in a thrill-seeking activity called the “choking game”, which involves self-asphyxiation or having been choked by someone else on purpose.  The 2007 OSDUHS Mental Health and Well-Being Report, released in May 2008, revealed these new data, as well as indicators and trends on the psychological health of Ontario’s youth.

Other new topics in the 2007 OSDUHS showed that approximately three percent (or 35,000 students) reported a suicide attempt in the past year.  About one in ten students rate their mental health as poor, with females more likely to do so than males (16 percent versus 7 percent). About nine percent of students may have a video gaming problem (indicated by symptoms such as loss of control, withdrawal, and disruption to family or school), with males significantly more likely than females to indicate this problem (16 percent versus 3 percent).

This year’s report also shows a stable but high rate of elevated psychological distress, with 31 percent of students reporting symptoms of depression, anxiety or social dysfunction.  In addition, about 21 percent of students visited a mental health professional a least once during the past year.   This is a significant increase from 2005, when only 12 percent of students reported visits.

Bullying continues to be a problem with Ontario youth, with stable but elevated rates of approximately 30 percent of students reporting being bullied at school since September.  The most prevalent form of being bullied is verbal attacks (23 percent), while four percent are bullied physically, and three percent are usually victims of theft or vandalism.  

Visit 2007 OSDUHS Mental Health and Well-Being Report or The “Choking Game”, Psychological Distress and Bullying: Ontario teens continue to exhibit troubling behaviour for more information.

 

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