Mental health problem is common among children, finds major study

One in five children have mental health problems, finds results from the Ontario Child Health Study 2014 (OCHS)

One in five Ontario children and youth suffer from a mental disorder, but less than one-third have had contact with a mental health care provider, finds the 2014 OCHS study.

When compared to a similar study from 1983, the new study found a much larger proportion of children and youth had a mental health disorder.

The new study, called the 2014 OCHS found that the patterns of prevalence among different sexes and age groups have changed.

Data collected from 2014 showed hyperactivity disorder in boys four to 11 years old jumped dramatically from nine to 16 percent, but there has been a substantial drop in disruptive behaviour among males 12 to 16 years old from 10 to 3 per cent. There has been a steep increase in anxiety and depression among both male and female youth from 9 to 13 per cent.

At the same time, there was a significant rise in perceptions of need for professional help with mental health disorders, rising from seven per cent in the original OCHS in 1983 to 19 per cent in the 2014 OCHS.

Data collected from 2014 showed hyperactivity disorder in boys four to 11 years old jumped dramatically from nine to 16 percent

Data revealed strong evidence that poor children are more likely to have a disorder if their neighbourhood is one where violence is more common.

The study also found that in the past year more than eight per cent of youth thought about suicide, and 4 per cent reported a suicide attempt.

The study included 10,802 children and youth aged four to 17 in 6,537 families. It replicated and expanded on the landmark 1983 Ontario Child Health Study of 3,290 children in 1,869 families.

Findings were published in the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry.

“This is a very robust study we feel represents the situation in Canada,” said Michael Boyle, co-principal investigator of the study. “That means there are more than a million Canadian children and youth with a mental health problem. This needs to be addressed.”

Co-principal investigator Kathy Georgiades added: “This study underscores the continued need for effective prevention and intervention programs.”