The rate of psychological distress among Ontario teenagers has tripled since 2013
A McMaster University study found that cannabis use may be related
Earlier this year, a report from ThriveTO found that Torontonians’ mental health is suffering—in 2015, three-quarters of surveyed Torontonians reported having good mental health. By 2022, which was when data was last collected, that statistic plummeted to just over half.
Fewer than half of young Toronto residents aged 18 to 24 reported high perceived mental health, according to the report.
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It’s an unsettling trend, and another study, published last week in the Addiction journal by researchers at McMaster University, found that psychological distress—such as depression and anxiety—has increased among teenagers across the province throughout the last decade, not just those in Toronto.
The study noted that cannabis use could be related. “It’s quite concerning from a mental health perspective,” lead author and post-doctoral fellow Andre McDonald told CTV News. “Far more Ontario teens are reporting mental health problems than a decade ago, and frequent cannabis use is increasingly part of that story.”
Researchers looked at data from 35,000 Ontario students enrolled in grades seven to 12. Their depression and anxiety symptoms were found to have tripled since 2013.
The study concluded that youth who use cannabis 40 times a year or more were 18 per cent more likely to experience psychological distress, though many use cannabis in the first place as an attempt to cope with mental health challenges.
“What was interesting from this study was that the association between cannabis use and psychological distress increased over time,” said McDonald. “What this study is suggesting is that cannabis potency has increased, which could be contributing to that strengthening association.”
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Carly Lewis is a journalist whose work has appeared in the New York Times and the New York Times Magazine, Vanity Fair, Wired, Interview Magazine, Pitchfork, Elle, and Maclean’s, where she is a contributing editor. Her work has been recognized by the National Magazine Awards and the Digital Publishing Awards. She reports on city life, culture—including what people do online—politics, art and crime. She received the Dave Greber Freelance Writers Award for “The Murder of Ashley Wadsworth,” an investigative feature about a Canadian teenager who was killed by a man she met on social media, published by Maclean’s.
