Monday, July 14, 2008

CANADA - NOT ALL THAT A CHILD'S WORLD SHOULD BE



80,000 Ontario youth play 'choking game'
TORONTO (UPI) -- Nearly 80,000 Ontario teens in grades seven to 12 report participating in the "choking game," or getting high through strangling, a survey indicated. The 2007 Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey revealed approximately 7 percent of Ontario junior high and high school students reported participating in the thrill-seeking activity, which involves self-asphyxiation or having been choked by someone else on purpose. The report, released by the Center for Addiction and Mental Health, said 3 percent, or 35,000 students, report a suicide attempt in the past year. About one in 10 students rated their mental health as poor, with females more likely to do so than males --16 percent vs. 7 percent. About 9 percent of students may have a video gaming problem -- indicated by symptoms such as loss of control, withdrawal and disruption to family or school -- with males significantly more likely than females to indicate this problem, 16 percent vs. 3 percent. Thirty-one percent of students report symptoms of depression, anxiety or social dysfunction. About 21 percent of students visited a mental health professional at least once during the past year, the report said.


Copyright 2008 by United Press International

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