most of B.C.'s young people are doing just fine, according to a new study, but some areas—like mental health—still need attention.
Results from the most recent McCreary Centre Society Adolescent Health Survey—which polled 38,000 of the province's students in Grades 7 to 12—were made public on March 13.
The findings are "a real mixed bag," said McCreary Centre Society executive director Annie Smith.
"Some stuff was unchanged (from the last survey done in 2013), so alcohol, marijuana, sexual activity, were all kind of consistent with previous results, and then we got the encouraging stuff around (fewer) kids binge drinking, reduced concussions, reduced suicide attempts and things like that," Smith said.
"And then the mental health and the sleep and stuff were not so great, I think, so yeah, definitely a mixture."
Most of B.C.'s youth reported a positive quality of life, with 79 per cent saying they had a good life, and 73 per cent saying their life was going well.
Health ratings saw a decline, however, with an increase in youth reporting they had a mental-health condition (including anxiety disorder or panic attacks—from eight per cent in 2013 to 19 per cent in 2018) and depression (from 10 to 15 per cent).
The percentage of students who slept for eight hours or more the night before taking the survey fell from 53 to 48 per cent. Less than half of respondents (41 per cent) said they went "offline" (turning off their phone or putting it on silent) after their expected bedtime, but those who did were likely to have slept longer and woken up feeling more rested.
"I think for me, it was the violence and discrimination that was really concerning, particularly in light of world events," Smith said.
In 2018, 39 per cent of students reported experiencing at least one form of discrimination in the past year, up from 11 per cent in 2013.
"Racial discrimination was up, discrimination on the ground with sexual orientation was up, bullying was up, abuse was up—all those things were really kind of concerning," Smith said.
"And then we know that they impact mental health, so then it's not surprising that the mental health was worse."
The next step for the survey data is to take it back to the kids to get a better understanding of why they feel the way they do, Smith said.
But the changing numbers could partly be attributed to more awareness around mental-health issues.
Whistler's Communities that Care (CTC) has seen the shift in recent years as well, said chair (and Whistler councillor) Cathy Jewett.
In recent years, CTC has hosted talks and workshops for both youth and parents focusing on things such as anxiety and mental health, and advocated with the provincial government for mental-health intakes for youth in Whistler.
"What the situation was is (that) every second week there was an intake clinic (at the Whistler Medical Clinic), but only for students of Whistler Secondary School, so if you were an elementary-school student or you were home-schooled or you were at Coast Mountain Academy, you would not be able to go to those intake clinics," Jewett said, adding that the Whistler Medical Clinic now offers regular youth intake. "I mean, that's huge."
The Sea to Sky School District had yet to receive the local McCreary results, but they will be shared with parents and students in "meaningful ways," said director of instruction Phillip Clarke.
"What's great about the McCreary is it's a provincial survey, so there will be, I'm sure, some funding initiatives to help support youth in some of the findings through Vancouver Coastal Health or other partners, which will be great," Clarke said.
These days, there's more awareness of mental-health issues across the board, he added, including some teachers who are now trained in mental-health literacy.
"So they can go back and teach (students) (that) it's normal to have feelings of anxiety and feelings of depression and sadness. That's normal. Like, it's OK to go through that, and those are just the ups and downs in life, but it also helps students understand what's not normal and when to go seek help or what that looks like," Clarke said.
"So I think empowering our students with the appropriate language and knowledge of mental health in general, in its widest form, has been beneficial."
Find the full results at www.mcs.bc.ca.
