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Video game playing has become a very popular activity among adolescents. Its impact on the mental health and well-being of players is just beginning to be explored. This paper reports on the prevalence of problematic gaming in a representative sample of 2,832 Ontario students in grades 7 to 12. The survey included questions about the school grade, family and school related problems, frequency of video game playing and video game related problems as measured by the Problem Video Game Playing scale (PVP). Most of the students (85%) reported playing video games in the past year and 18.3% reported playing video games daily. Slightly less then 1 in 10 of the students (9.4%) endorsed 5 or more of the PVP items (males 15.1%; females 3.1%). Further research is required to delineate the concept of excessive video game playing, its relation to other addictions, and the impact on adolescents' psychosocial functioning.

Anxiety and mood disorders (AMD) may be more common among adolescents than previously thought, and epidemiological research would benefit from an easily-administered measure of AMD. We assessed the ability of the GHQ12 to estimate the prevalence of AMD in a representative sample of Ontario adolescents. Data were based on self-administered questionnaires from 3,311 students in grades 7 through 12 derived from the 2007 Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey. The GHQ12 showed good ability to identify probable AMD (AUC = 0.80). A threshold value of 5 appeared optimal, and based on this threshold value, the estimated prevalence of AMD in Ontario students in grades 7-12 may be 19%. Observations that individuals with a self-reported history of family disruption, substance use, gambling problems, bullying victimization, and who reported seeking professional help for a mental health problem were significantly more likely to experience probable AMD provided additional validity.

The objective of this study was to examine differences in psychological distress, service utilization, and prescriptions for medications between adolescents with histories of family involvement with child protective services (CPS) and adolescents without such involvement. Data on 3,497 students were obtained from the 2009 cycle of the Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey, a province-wide school-based survey of 7th to 12th graders. All analyses adjusted for the complex sample design. Results indicated that individuals who reported histories of family involvement with CPS were more likely to report elevated risk of psychological distress, had a greater number of visits to doctors and other professionals for mental health concerns, and were more likely to have been prescribed medications for depression or anxiety than individuals with no involvement with CPS. These results suggest a need for greater research on service utilization and prescription medications among individuals with histories of family involvement with CPS.

Stigma is a significant barrier to the improvement of the lives of people with schizophrenia. Little is known about the emergence of stigmatizing attitudes developmentally. The purpose of this study was to provide a provincial assessment of adolescent knowledge about schizophrenia and to identify the relationship between adolescent knowledge and social distance toward people with schizophrenia. Data were derived from the 2005 cycle of the Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey. In total, 3,117, 7th- to 12th-graders completed self-administered questionnaires that included a measure of schizophrenia knowledge and social distancing. Results indicated that the majority of adolescents had some knowledge about schizophrenia and low social distancing toward people with schizophrenia. Greater knowledge, increasing age, being female, and lower parental education were associated with less distancing attitudes. Educational campaigns to reduce stigma may still be warranted as one component of broader multilevel interventions to overcome mental illness stigma. (Contains 3 tables.)

Two prior surveys from rural Louisiana, Canada, and New York [Arch. Clin. Neuropsychol. 3 (1988) 331; Arch. Clin. Neuropsychol. 8 (1993) 461] revealed that a high portion of the population endorses misconceptions about the sequelae of traumatic brain injury (TBI). The purpose of this study was to assess the public’s perceptions of head trauma in an urban setting in the Northeast region of the country and to compare those results with surveys from other geographical areas conducted 8 and 13 years ago. This study also examined the prevalence of perceptions about TBI that may be relevant to personal injury litigation with TBI plaintiffs. Data were collected at an office of the Department of Motor Vehicles from persons conducting business there. Participants (n=179) voluntarily completed a 19-item survey covering several facets of brain injury. This sample endorsed misconceptions at a level consistent with previous studies, indicating a comparable lack of knowledge about moderate to severe TBI. With regard to mild TBI, however, our sample generally endorsed fewer misconceptions than previous samples. The public also holds perceptions of TBI that may be relevant to personal injury litigation involving TBI plaintiffs. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Introduction: This paper examines secular trends in violence among Ontario students between 1983 and 2001, and variation by sex. Methods: Using data from the Ontario Student Drug Use Survey, we examined self-reports of assault, weapon carrying, and gang fighting based on 10 cross-sectional surveys from 1983 to 2001. Respondents were derived from representative samples of Ontario students in grades 7, 9, 11, and 13 (OAC) who completed in-class anonymous self-administered surveys. Data were weighted to account for the complex survey design and analyzed using logit trend analyses. Results: Short-term trends (1991–2001) showed assault, weapon carrying, and gang fighting have been on downward trajectories since the mid-1990s, reaching the lowest prevalence in 2001 among males and females. Long-term trends (1983–2001) among 11th-graders showed assault increased between 1985 and 1999, but declined in 2001. Gang fighting among males increased during the late 1980s and again during the mid-1990s, but declined between 1997 and 2001. Gang fighting among females remained at a stable, low level. Discussion: Future monitoring is necessary to understand whether the decline in self-reported violent behaviour among adolescents is robust. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractBackground: During the 1990s, rates of nonmedical drug use among adolescents escalated. We assessed data from 5 cycles of the Ontario Student Drug Use Survey for overall trends in the proportion of students reporting illegal drug use between 1991 and 1999.Methods: The survey is a repeated, cross-sectional, 2-stage cluster-design survey of students enrolled in grades 7, 9, 11 and 13. Outcome measures were prevalence of use of 17 drugs, including alcohol and tobacco, over the 12 months preceding the survey.Results: The rates of drug use increased between 1993 and 1999. The 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the differences in proportions between 1997 and 1999 indicated significant increases in the overall use of 6 drugs: alcohol (95% CI[sub diff] 6.1, 1.9-10.3), cannabis (95% CI[sub diff] 46.3, 0.2-8.4), glue (95% CI[sub diff] 2.3, 1.3-3.3), other solvents (95% CI[sub diff] 5.0, 3.1-6.3), barbiturates (95% CI[sub diff] 1.9, 0.4-3.4) and hallucinogens such as mescaline and psilocybin (95% CI[sub diff] 3.5, 0.8-6.9). Fewer grade 7 students in 1999 than in earlier cohorts reported using alcohol or cigarettes by age 9.Interpretation: The public health implications of the findings are mixed. On the positive side, there is no evidence of increases in early onset of drug use. On the negative side, the overall proportion of students reporting illegal drug use has continued to rise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This paper examines trends in vigorous physical activity participation among students enrolled in grades 7, 9, 11 and 13 in Ontario between 1997 and 2001. Patterns in participation by gender and grade level are also described. Methods: Data were derived from the Ontario Student Drug Use Survey for 1997, 1999, and 2001. Three outcomes of vigorous physical activity were included in self-report questionnaires completed by more than 5,000 students over a three-year period. They responded to the survey in classroom groups during school time. Estimates were weighted and variance and statistical tests have been corrected for the complex sample design. Results: Comparisons between 1997 and 2001 indicated that, overall, patterns of vigorous physical activity remained stable. However, there were significant declines in vigorous physical activity participation by females and 11th grade students between 1997 and 2001. Interpretation: The trends for females and 11th graders are disturbing, since they indicate that the normal gender and age differences in vigorous physical activity participation, found in numerous previous studies, are compounded by declining levels over time for these groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]