In British Columbia, 37% of the population reported that their mental health had deteriorated since the start of the pandemic. Nationally, this proportion increases among young people aged 18 to 24, where the mental health of one in two people has deteriorated.
[Au Canada], the five answers that came back most often are emotions that we characterize as negative or that present a challenge
, underlines one of the research managers and assistant professor of nursing at theUBC, Emily Jenkins.
Half of the population also said they had not felt any positive emotions in the two weeks leading up to data collection, she adds.
This is the third survey conducted by the University of British Columbia and the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) to determine the evolution of the mental health of Canadians since the arrival of the pandemic.
What we are observing is that the emotional challenges people faced have persisted since the start of the pandemic, which is not very surprising.
In the province, optimism still ranks third among responses with 31% of the population claiming to be optimistic in the face of the health crisis. Over 80% of British Columbians cope as well or fairly well with the stress of the pandemic.
Factors that promote well-being include holistic elements, such as social and economic security, freedom from violence, harm and trauma, and access to mental health resources
, writes the head of the national directorate ofACSM, Margaret Eaton, in a statement.
Talking about our emotions and experiences with those close to us can help to overcome this difficult moment.
, for her part, supports the assistant professor at theUBC.
Increased screen time
To help manage the stress of the pandemic and adapt to the new reality, British Columbians have been the most likely to increase the frequency of their physical activities outside and 44% of them say they keep healthy lifestyle.
Survey results also show screen time has increased by 60% across the province.
The University of British Columbia and the Canadian Mental Health Association plan to continue their study, in particular to measure the receptivity of the population to the vaccination campaign.
Methodology :
The survey was conducted by a team of researchers from the University of British Columbia and the Canadian Mental Health Association, in collaboration with Maru / Matchbox. The data was collected between January 18 and 22, 2021 from 3,034 respondents from an online panel. The data have been weighted to ensure that the sample is representative of the adult Canadian population by age, gender, region and family income. The maximum margin of error is 1.79% at a 95% confidence level.
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