Young Quebecers — and especially young Quebec women — experience moments of anguish. The pandemic passed, their mental health is recovering a little better, but the damage is done.
This is what emerges from the photo portrait of one of the biggest studies on the mental health of young people published on Wednesday. Nearly 18,000 Quebecers aged 12 to 25, from 64 schools, CEGEPs or universities in Estrie, the Laurentians, Mauricie–Centre-du-Québec and Montérégie were surveyed.
Among the alarming findings, 52% of girls in high school and 56% of girls in graduate school show symptoms of anxiety or depression. “Our daughters were not well during the pandemic and continue to not be well”, summarizes the Dre Mélissa Généreux, medical advisor to Public Health in Estrie and responsible for this investigation.
“I have been measuring for about three years that one young person in two has levels of symptoms compatible with anxiety or depression. The first time I thought it was a mistake. No, no, it really is. [Ça s’explique en partie] because our young people are still very close to their emotions. I think that should be welcomed. They are not shy to say openly that they cry often, are discouraged, anxious, sleep badly, etc. explains the professor at the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Sherbrooke.
“And I wondered if it’s a bit because of the adolescent phase, this connection with emotions and stronger emotions. But, having said that, when it comes to the point of saying, “Yeah, I thought I’d be better off dead in the last two weeks,” that’s a big deal. It’s not just a passing mood. There is still an act of desperation. It was like that last year, it’s like that this year. One in four young people think they would be better off dead in the last two weeks! »
These dark and disturbing ideas do not just pass. No less than 10% of young people say they feel this deep malaise more than one day out of two. This statistic climbs to 14% for girls and drops to 5% for boys in high school.
The isolation caused by the pandemic is no stranger to this evil of living. “Can I talk about my problems with my friends? was a question asked in a poll just before the pandemic, in 2020. About 79% of young people said they agreed with this statement. Today, only 64% answer in the same way.
The screens that dominate
The consumption of pixels, and especially those of social networks, has increased during the pandemic, especially among girls. These ubiquitous screens partly explain these ills of the soul.
“It is worrying that social networks are so popular, so many hours a day by so many young people”, advances the Dre Melissa Genereux. “Young people who spend at least four hours a day on social media report twice as much anxiety or depression as those who spend less than two hours a day there. »
Social networks have their advantages, however. Friends, loves and hobbies gain from it, according to the young people themselves. On the contraryacademic success, family relationships and, at the peak of the negative consequences, sleep suffer.
“Girls in secondary school are numerous to report negative impacts of screens on their sleep (63%) and the perception of their appearance (51%)”, specifies the sounding.
Young people, these new workers
This “mental health surveillance” effort confirms an already visible trend: young people are working. A lot. Work-study balance now concerns more than half of teenagers.
“I double, triple checked my results, insists the Dre Generous. I didn’t really believe him. It’s amazing how, from the 1re secondary, more than half of the young people in our survey are working. Then, 20% in the first cycle [1re et 2e secondaire] work more than 15 hours per week. It is serious ! »
And it is not a quest for autonomy or a sense of responsibility that motivates these young people. They sell their hours of youth mainly “for [se] pay for things including [ils ont] envy” and “to save money for later”.
“I have a little this concern that we come to stifle this void in family life, or life with friends which is not at the top, or the interest in school which is not at the top, through work that allows you to get quick material happiness,” the researcher philosophizes. “I’m just afraid that it will lead us into a vicious circle towards quick short-term happiness rather than long-term investments in school and in our friendships or family relationships. This is evident from our data. »