(Canada) Ontario study finds 20% of kids are MENTALLY ILL; big increase, more services needed

April 20, 2019, Study Finds: Study: 1 In 5 Children Suffers From A Mental Health Disorder https://www.studyfinds.org/one-in-five-children-suffers-from-mental-health-disorder/ HAMILTON, Ontario — One in five children suffer from a mental disorder — with notable increases in depression and anxiety over the past 30 years — yet less than one-third have had contact with a mental healthcare provider, a new study finds. Results from the 2014 Ontario Child Health Study actually mirror findings from a similar study conducted in 1983, but this latest version shows a higher proportion of children and youth with disorders have had contact with health providers and in other settings, usually via schools…. Researchers also found a significant increase in anxiety and depression in male and female youth. That total jumped from 9% in 1983 to 13% in the 2014 study. There was also a notable rise — from 7% to 19% — in the perceptions of need for professional help with mental health disorders. However, the researchers wrote it was difficult to determine if this is tied to the growing prominence of anti-stigma and mental health awareness over the past 30 years…. “This is a very robust study we feel represents the situation in Canada,” says Michael Boyle, co-principal investigator of the study, in a statement. “That means there are more than a million Canadian children and youth with a mental health problem. This needs to be addressed.”