Nearly half of youth missed school in Ontario because of anxiety, survey says

More than 60 per cent of young people in Ontario say they have had concerns about their level ofanxiety, with nearly half missing school because of it and a quarter of parents missing work, saysa new survey released on Tuesday.

The Children and Youth Mental Health survey, conducted byIpsosPublic Affairs over a two-day period at the end of October, analyzedresponses from 806 Ontario residents. Respondents logged in to complete the survey.

Respondents included parents with children under the age of 25, 18 to 24-year-olds exploring current situations and 25 to 34-year-olds reflecting on their experiences as youth.

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The survey says 62 per cent of youth reported having concerns about anxiety and 46 per cent of them report missingschool because of it.

While 33 percent of parents said they had a child who missed school because of anxiety, 25 per cent of parents reported having to miss work to care for a child with anxiety issues.

Other findings:

• 40 per cent of youth sought help but almost half of them didn't receive it.
• 50 per cent of youth who soughthelpfound it challenging to get mental health services.
• 50 per cent of parents had concerns about their child's anxiety.
• 40 per cent of parents who sought help for their child are still waiting.