Findings of Poll #16
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ABOUT THE STUDY
This study was conducted by Pollara Strategic Insights with an online sample of 3,494 adult Canadians between April 21 and May 3, 2023. The results from this study provide insights into the mental health of Canadians and reveal concerning trends.
The data demonstrates that mental health indicators continue to flatline when compared to the last few polling reports. Levels of high anxiety (11%) and depression (9%) have remained constant, and feelings of burnout (23%) have not changed since early 2022. This indicates that the stagnant mental health improvements flagged in the previous poll are ongoing.
A series of research briefs that provide an in-depth, specific investigation of our polling results can be found here. Results of earlier polls are compared when applicable.
Findings from our polls are searchable on our free Data Portal.
The release of Poll 16 presents findings that indicate a stagnation in the mental health of Canadians.
Despite a temporary decrease in high-rated levels of self-rated anxiety and depression in autumn 2022, mental health improvements have stagnated. The arrival of warmer weather, which typically positively impacts mental health, has not shown the same effect in this collection of data, indicating that increased mental health challenges could become the new normal for Canadians.
The study revealed a significant link between burnout and possible alcohol and/or cannabis dependency among Canadians. Nearly half of individuals displaying signs of alcohol dependency (45%) and cannabis dependency (42%) also reported feeling burnt out most of the time. This finding underscores the potential association between high levels of stress and exhaustion, and the adoption of substances as coping mechanisms or self-medication. It emphasizes the importance of addressing both burnout and substance dependencies in comprehensive mental health support programs.
Additional major findings of concern from Poll 16 include:
Younger Canadians, those who identify as 2SLGBTQIA+, racialized groups, and those facing financial challenges are more likely to indicate high levels of anxiety and depression.
Inflation continues to have a negative impact on the mental health of Canadians (51%).
New insights show that one-third (35%) of Canadians have decreased spending on essential issues,
one-third (31%) have reduced or cut into their savings
one-fifth (21%) have gone into debt as a result.
High levels of anxiety and depression are likely among those who have gone into debt as well as among those who have indicated experiencing food insecurity (35%).
Unsurprisingly, those experiencing extremely high levels (at least a 9 on a 10-point scale) of anxiety and depression are more likely to indicate that they are unhappy (47% anxiety, 34% depression).
They are also more likely to experience suicide ideation; with 4% of men having made a plan to die by suicide in the past year.
The poll results also showed some positive trends:
Hopefulness remains on the higher side (65%).
Most Canadians (82%) are feeling at least somewhat happy or interested in life.
Older Canadians (aged 55 and up) are more likely to feel so that others.
The majority of respondents feel confident that they know where to access mental health support; however, it remains the primary barrier (32%) for the one-in-twenty Canadians who feel they need support but have not accessed it.
The above are just some of the key findings of MHRC’s sixteenth poll, part of a multi-year effort to track the mental health challenges of COVID-19 and beyond.