How are our youth doing? The results of an extensive 2017 survey of sixth-grade Montrealers and their parents were revealed on May 10 at the TOPO Grand Rendez-vous. Many of the teams in our CIUSSS that provide health and social services to the city’s youth population were in attendance. These include General Services, Child, Family and Youth Services, the Frontline Integrated Services Program, the Mental Health and Addiction Directorate, and the Rehabilitation Directorate.
TOPO 2017 surveyed nearly every sixth-grader on the Island of Montreal, from both the public and private school systems. Altogether 13,380 students and 7,887 parents participated in the sweeping survey.
The survey addressed themes that are preoccupying today’s youth as they transition to adolescence, such as:
• self esteem
• agression, violence and cyber-intimidation
• academic engagement and school drop-out risk
• personal and social relations
• behaviors and lifestyle habits
• health
• social and environmental influences
Initial results of the pan-Montreal survey reveal both challenges and positive areas. Among the challenges cited:
• 38 per cent of participants do not eat breakfast every day before school
• 62 per cent do not consume six portions of fruits and vegetables daily
• 65 per cent do not reach 60 minutes of moderate or intense daily physical activity
• 5 per cent already present an elevated drop-out risk
Meanwhile, positive results indicate that:
• 68 per cent have a very high level of satisfaction with their life
• 95 per cent consider themselves to be in good health
Local results from the various CIUSSSs, CLSCs and boroughs will be made available during the summer, while those from the schools and neighbourhoods are to be published in the fall. These findings give youth service professionals a more accurate portrait of young Montrealers. The better we know our youth, the more effectively we can develop services to meet their needs, and help them realize their full potential.
—Patrice Lépine, Agent de planification, programmation et recherche en santé publique, Direction des services intégrés de première ligne
