Statistics Reveal Alarming Trends About Youth and Self-Harm

A study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) revealed an alarmingly high rate of emergency room and hospital admissions for self-harm among children and adolescents during the two-year period from the beginning of the pandemic through June of 2022.

“Findings may reflect the prolonged and cumulative effects of pandemic-related stressors on this younger age group such as social isolation, loss of routines, missed milestones, changing learning environments, familial stress, inadequately treated psychiatric conditions, substance misuse or changing patterns of mental health service use at a critical point in their developmental trajectory,” according to the study authors.

It didn’t help that hospitals struggled with staff shortages throughout that timeframe as well. According to a recent Statistics Canada report, the prevalence of suicidal thoughts during 2021 came up very high among young people ages 18 to 24. The federal government’s 2021 budget designated $45 million to advance national mental health service standards over a two-year period, in collaboration with the provinces and territories.

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