By Sam Bennison

To Your Health

Youth mental health on the decline according to new survey

Mar 6, 2024 | 5:36 PM

PRINCE GEORGE—The B.C. Adolescent Health Survey is an in depth look into the mental and physical health of school aged people. According to the survey, youth health has seen some gains, but also some losses.

“We’re seeing lower alcohol use, lower cannabis use, lower tobacco use than we’ve ever seen,” says Annie Smith, executive director for the McCreary Centre Society. “Some real kind of gains. Some concerning findings, definitely, less young people reporting positive mental health, more young people self-harming, reported anxiety and depression.

The decrease in mental health can be attributed to a multitude of factors. One major cause of the decline is the continued consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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“We’ve had a pandemic in between the last time we did the survey and this one, which has a huge impact. We see everything so interrelated,” continues Smith. “A quarter of young people are often always lonely. They’re less likely to be engaged in extracurricular activities like organized sports and things.”

However, social media has also had an impact on young peoples mental health. The survey shows that only 42 percent of youth slept for eight hours, with 67 percent citing that they were scrolling through social media.

The 2023 Survey involved 59 out of the 60 school districts in the province. It will be used to develop strategies to improve youth outcomes. Smith adds that the survey highlights that sometimes an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of the cure.

“If young people have access to the absolute basic needs. If they’re not going to bed hungry as a starter, if their getting healthy foods, if they’ve got access to supportive adults and a supportive peer group, we definitely see more positive outcomes,” says Smith. “I think the survey can really help us to identify those things that can help even youth who are really struggling and how we can support them.”

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Email: sam.bennison@pattisonmedia.com