Backward Canada: 1 Canadian out of 10 Reporting to Re-education Center
Statistics Canada: 9 in 10 satisfied with life
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20090626/satisfaction_090625/20090626?hub=Health
Statistics Canada: 9 in 10 satisfied with life
Updated Fri. Jun. 26 2009 8:36 AM ET
The Canadian Press
TORONTO -- Adults often reflect on their teen years as the best time of their life - before the stresses of middle age begin to pile up - and new figures released Thursday by Statistics Canada seem to bear that out.
The Canadian Community Health Survey of 2008 found that 91 per cent of respondents were satisfied or very satisfied with life.
But the highest rate of life satisfaction, at 94 per cent, was among those aged 12 to 19, with boys slightly more satisfied than adolescent girls. However, this statistic seems "quite high" amid the tales of teen angst we are accustomed to hearing, one expert on mood disorders suggested.
As Canadians reach middle age, things tend to change as people take on more family and career responsibilities. More than 28 per cent of the 35-to-54 age group reported daily stress in their lives last year. And overall only 82 per cent of people who found their days quite or extremely stressful were satisfied or very satisfied with life.
"We know, of course, that this is the life stage where there's a lot of competing demands and priorities," said Vincent Dale, assistant director of the Health Statistics Division at Statistics Canada.
"So I think it's reasonable to speculate that that's a source of some of the stress."
By contrast, just 10 per cent of seniors found their days stressful.
Among those satisfied with life, 63 per cent said their overall health was very good or excellent. And 54 per cent of those dissatisfied with life reported poor or fair health.
Dale said the questions were asked throughout the year, and there was no indication that the economic downturn that hit Canada in the late summer had an impact on life satisfaction responses.
"It may be that life satisfaction is driven by a number of things, not just the economy but personal relationships, family, neighbourhood, those types of factors," he observed.
Data on life satisfaction, stress, mood disorders, weight, drinking, smoking and leisure time were released Thursday. Much of the data remained similar to previous years, with the exception of mood disorders.
The survey found that 6.8 per cent of respondents reported they'd been diagnosed with a mood disorder such as depression, bipolar disorder or mania, up from 5.3 per cent in 2003.
Phil Upshall, national executive director of the Mood Disorders Society of Canada, said the rise probably reflects the fact that people are being more honest and knowledgeable about depression and bipolar disorder.
"One of the reasons that I expect that it's jumped is the fact that people are talking more and more about mental health issues, and it's becoming safer for people to disclose the fact that they live with a mental illness," he said from Ottawa.
He also noted that the Statistics Canada survey is anonymous, and the respondents might not tell their employer or close relatives the same thing because of the stigma associated with mental illness.
The survey found that 8.5 per cent of women reported a diagnosed mood disorder compared to five per cent of men. Upshall speculates that the questions would not have facilitated honest answers from men.
"Males and females are conditioned entirely differently in our society - women are far more readily willing to deal with, publicly and openly, their emotions," he said.
Upshall also raised questions about the high number of people reporting life satisfaction, suggesting that there needs to be further investigation of what is meant by this, and how to get at underlying conditions that aren't addressed.
"Are some of these responses that are elicited quick responses rather than well-thought-out responses?" he asked.
"Because we all know that a significant portion of Canadian youth are struggling with identity issues. They may not be depressed, but they're struggling with identity issues, their future prospects and all the things that bedevil children and youth."
"So the number to me, to be honest, is quite high, and does not reflect the experience that we see with children and youth."
In terms of physical health, the report said obesity rates in adult men rose from 16 to 18 per cent from 2003 to 2008, and 15 to 16 per cent in women.
Body mass index calculations involving reported height and weight are used to determine obesity. For example, a 221-pound person who is six feet tall would be considered obese.
James would likely argue that this study is a) propaganda and b) indicative of the Canadian stoicism and reticence about complaining. I've one anecdote where I was talking about politics with several of James' Canadian friends. They were complaining about the performance of their representatives, and disagreement with policy decisions. "Why don't you write to your representatives, or start a petition or have town hall meetings to challenge this?" I asked. They all gave me the same blank stare in response. "We can't actually DO anything about politics... we just complain about it."
ETA: My subject line hints at it, but I'll state it more plainly: Having a life-satisfaction poll reporting high satisfaction in 90%+ of ANY sample makes me question the results. It just seems SO unlikely that secessionist Quebecquois and First Nation people are all equally thrilled with their lives. Yet, I DO believe that they'd self-report as satisfied, because of cultural expectations to do so.
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20090626/satisfaction_090625/20090626?hub=Health
Statistics Canada: 9 in 10 satisfied with life
Updated Fri. Jun. 26 2009 8:36 AM ET
The Canadian Press
TORONTO -- Adults often reflect on their teen years as the best time of their life - before the stresses of middle age begin to pile up - and new figures released Thursday by Statistics Canada seem to bear that out.
The Canadian Community Health Survey of 2008 found that 91 per cent of respondents were satisfied or very satisfied with life.
But the highest rate of life satisfaction, at 94 per cent, was among those aged 12 to 19, with boys slightly more satisfied than adolescent girls. However, this statistic seems "quite high" amid the tales of teen angst we are accustomed to hearing, one expert on mood disorders suggested.
As Canadians reach middle age, things tend to change as people take on more family and career responsibilities. More than 28 per cent of the 35-to-54 age group reported daily stress in their lives last year. And overall only 82 per cent of people who found their days quite or extremely stressful were satisfied or very satisfied with life.
"We know, of course, that this is the life stage where there's a lot of competing demands and priorities," said Vincent Dale, assistant director of the Health Statistics Division at Statistics Canada.
"So I think it's reasonable to speculate that that's a source of some of the stress."
By contrast, just 10 per cent of seniors found their days stressful.
Among those satisfied with life, 63 per cent said their overall health was very good or excellent. And 54 per cent of those dissatisfied with life reported poor or fair health.
Dale said the questions were asked throughout the year, and there was no indication that the economic downturn that hit Canada in the late summer had an impact on life satisfaction responses.
"It may be that life satisfaction is driven by a number of things, not just the economy but personal relationships, family, neighbourhood, those types of factors," he observed.
Data on life satisfaction, stress, mood disorders, weight, drinking, smoking and leisure time were released Thursday. Much of the data remained similar to previous years, with the exception of mood disorders.
The survey found that 6.8 per cent of respondents reported they'd been diagnosed with a mood disorder such as depression, bipolar disorder or mania, up from 5.3 per cent in 2003.
Phil Upshall, national executive director of the Mood Disorders Society of Canada, said the rise probably reflects the fact that people are being more honest and knowledgeable about depression and bipolar disorder.
"One of the reasons that I expect that it's jumped is the fact that people are talking more and more about mental health issues, and it's becoming safer for people to disclose the fact that they live with a mental illness," he said from Ottawa.
He also noted that the Statistics Canada survey is anonymous, and the respondents might not tell their employer or close relatives the same thing because of the stigma associated with mental illness.
The survey found that 8.5 per cent of women reported a diagnosed mood disorder compared to five per cent of men. Upshall speculates that the questions would not have facilitated honest answers from men.
"Males and females are conditioned entirely differently in our society - women are far more readily willing to deal with, publicly and openly, their emotions," he said.
Upshall also raised questions about the high number of people reporting life satisfaction, suggesting that there needs to be further investigation of what is meant by this, and how to get at underlying conditions that aren't addressed.
"Are some of these responses that are elicited quick responses rather than well-thought-out responses?" he asked.
"Because we all know that a significant portion of Canadian youth are struggling with identity issues. They may not be depressed, but they're struggling with identity issues, their future prospects and all the things that bedevil children and youth."
"So the number to me, to be honest, is quite high, and does not reflect the experience that we see with children and youth."
In terms of physical health, the report said obesity rates in adult men rose from 16 to 18 per cent from 2003 to 2008, and 15 to 16 per cent in women.
Body mass index calculations involving reported height and weight are used to determine obesity. For example, a 221-pound person who is six feet tall would be considered obese.
James would likely argue that this study is a) propaganda and b) indicative of the Canadian stoicism and reticence about complaining. I've one anecdote where I was talking about politics with several of James' Canadian friends. They were complaining about the performance of their representatives, and disagreement with policy decisions. "Why don't you write to your representatives, or start a petition or have town hall meetings to challenge this?" I asked. They all gave me the same blank stare in response. "We can't actually DO anything about politics... we just complain about it."
ETA: My subject line hints at it, but I'll state it more plainly: Having a life-satisfaction poll reporting high satisfaction in 90%+ of ANY sample makes me question the results. It just seems SO unlikely that secessionist Quebecquois and First Nation people are all equally thrilled with their lives. Yet, I DO believe that they'd self-report as satisfied, because of cultural expectations to do so.