• Background
• Overwhelming Majority Say that Mental Health is Very Important
• Three Quarters of Canadians Feel Really Stressed at Least Once Per Month
• Canadians’ Depression Levels Stable or Improving Over Time
• Work is a Major Contributor To Serious Stress
• Work as a Source of Stress
• Income, Gender, and Age as Factors
• A Decline in the Destructive Nature of Workplace Stress
• Bosses Get Better Grades for Workplace Stress than Four years Ago
• Responses to Stress
• Meditation and Exercise Trump Talking as Stress Relievers
• Some Increased Caution about Confiding
• Who Confides the Most
• Canadians Are Becoming More Secretive About Depression Counselling
• Psychologists and Medical Professionals are Most Credible, The Government is Least Credible
• Psychologists and Medical Professions Tops in Credibibility, Federal Officials at the Bottom
• Multivariate Analysis Reveals Two Overarching Groups in the Public Mind—Healthcare Professionals and Government Officials
• Canadians Become Ever More Mistrusting and Sceptical with Age While Retaining Special Trust in Family Physicians

The Canadian Mental Health Association engaged COMPAS to undertake a national, representative survey among 500 Canadians to explore public experiences and perceptions relating to stress and depression. In some instances, the report presents findings from questions that COMPAS first tracked on behalf of the Canadian Mental Health Association almost a decade ago.

Some key findings of fact are:

• The overwhelming majority of Canadians (91%) say that it is very important to maintain mental health
• Three-quarters of Canadians feel really stressed at least once a month
• Canadian depression levels have been stable over time
• Work is a major contributor to stress, but workplace stress is not necessarily seen as a bad thing and employers are earning better grades for dealing effectively with workplace stress compared to four years ago
• Canadians prefer to deal with stress through physical activity such as exercise or meditation rather than through talking with others
• Canadians are increasingly uncomfortable letting others know when they are receiving treatment or counselling for depression
• Psychologists and medical professionals such as psychiatrists and family doctors are seen as the most credible groups and the government is seen as the least credible group in terms of disseminating information about mental health issues. 

The preceding findings are from a national survey conducted by COMPAS on behalf of the Canadian Mental Health Association. A representative sample of N=500 were interviewed using Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI) during the period of April 7–April 11, 2001. Surveys of this size are deemed accurate to within 4.5 percentage points 19 times out of 20. Principal investigators on this study are Conrad Winn, Ph.D. (416-598-0310) and Robert Laufer, MBA (416-598-0310)

Back to top

An overwhelming majority of Canadians say that it is very important to maintain their mental health. In response to a direct prompt, an astounding 91% of respondents say that maintaining their mental health is very important to them. This current level of high importance surpasses even the high importance level found in the 1997 Canadian Mental Health Survey (82%), when COMPAS reported that "[the ‘very important’ score] is one of the highest ‘intense opinion’ scores that COMPAS has ever recorded in any of its attitudinal and behavioural studies".

Given the exceptionally high majority view of the importance of mental health, one might expect importance levels to be uniform among Canadians irrespective of key demographic indicators. Indeed this is largely the case. Mental health importance levels are unvarying across key demographic indicators such as education, marital status, whether children live at home, employment status, language, region, and income.

The main departures from Canadians’ homogeneity of perception about the importance of maintaining mental health are related to gender and age. Women are especially apt to feel that maintaining mental health is very important (95% "very important" versus 88% among men). Meanwhile, the youngest Canadian cohort (18-24 years old) is least apt to feel that maintaining mental health is very important (77% versus 91% among Canadians as a whole).

Given the importance they attach to mental health, one might expect Canadians to feel reasonably competent about ways of improving their mental well-being. This is precisely the case. Canadians feel that they know a lot about meeting their needs for mental health, and they feel more knowledgeable than they did a decade ago. Respondents were asked: "Overall, would you say that you know more than enough, enough, or not really enough about ways to maintain and improve your mental health?" Three quarters of respondents (75%) report knowing enough or even more than enough about ways to maintain and improve their mental health. This compares with 63% in COMPAS’ 1997 study.

Knowledge of ways to improve mental health increases with education. For example, 46% of those with some/all elementary school feel that they know enough or more than enough compared to 77% among those with some university and 88% among post-graduates (see table 1, below, for the full distribution of responses across all educational categories).

Table 1: Knowledge of Ways to Improve Mental Health by Education

Widowed, separated, or divorced Canadians are least apt to report knowing enough ways to maintain and improve their mental health. In practice, only 68% of previously married Canadians know enough or more than enough about ways to preserve their mental well-being compared to 75% among Canadians as a whole.

Back to top

Feeling stressed out is a monthly matter--three-quarters of Canadians report feeling really stressed at least once a month, as shown in table 2, below. In practice, 24% of Canadians feel really stressed about once a month, 43% feel really stressed a few times a week and 9% feel really stressed all the time.

Mental stress abates with age. The oldest Canadians feel really stressed the least often. In practice, 59% of those aged 55-64 and 56% of those aged 65 or over feel really stressed at least once a month compared to 87% of those 18-24 years of age and 85% of those 25-34 (see table 2 below).

Table 2: Frequency of Feeling Really Stressed by Age

Canadians’ stress levels have not changed much over time. This conclusion flows from a comparison of current, reported stress levels today with those found in an earlier COMPAS/CMHA study and responses to a a question in the 2001 study comparing stress levels over time. Today, 9% say that they are really stressed out all the time compared to 10% a decade ago (see table 3 below). Meanwhile, 76% say that they are really stressed today compared to 72% reporting so in 1992. The only possible change, and faint one if at all, is a small possible decline in the number of people who say that they are never really stressed or are really stressed less than once a year (11% down from 16% in 1992) and a possible rise in the number of people who report being stressed a few times a week (up to 43% from 37% in 1992).

Table 3: Thinking about stress in your life, how often do you feel really stressed… all the time, a few times a week, about once a month, a few times a year, once a year or less often, or never?

As an alternative to comparing reported stress levels at different points in time, respondents can be asked for their perceptions of such changes. In practice, Canadians are evenly divided in their perceptions of changing stress levels over the last couple of years. One-third of Canadians do feel that stress levels have become much higher or somewhat higher compared to two years ago. In response to a direct prompt, 14% of Canadians assert that their level of feeling really stressed is much higher than two years ago and another 19% say that their stress levels are somewhat higher. But one third say that their level of feeling really stressed has remained about the same (33%) while another third say that their stress levels have become somewhat lower (17%) or much lower (16%) than two years ago. The net increase (higher minus lower) in stress over the last two years is zero. This stability in stress levels holds across all demographic segments.

Back to top

Canadians’ level of depression has remained relatively stable over the last decade. This portrait emerges from responses to the following questions:

• How often do you feel really depressed … all the time, a few times a week, about once a month, a few times a year, once a year or less often, or never?
• Would you say that your level of feeling really depressed is much higher, somewhat higher, about the same, somewhat lower, or much lower now compared to two years ago?
• Have you ever been diagnosed as having depression?
• Has anyone close to you, either friends or family ever been diagnosed as having depression?

Most Canadians acknowledge feeling depressed. Only 23% report never feeling depressed. Meanwhile, 23% feel depressed once a year or less often, and 21% feel depressed a few times per year.

A challenge from the survey is to resolve a paradox whereby Canadians appear to be no more depressed and perhaps even less depressed than nine years ago while at the same time they report apparently higher rates of clinical diagnosis for depression. The evidence that rates of depression have not increased and may even have declined includes the following elements:

• The proportion of Canadians who report never feeling depressed has doubled—up from 11% in 1992 to a current 23%
• A plurality of respondents (42%) say that their level of feeling depressed is about the same as it was two years ago.
• Those who say today that their depression level (38%) is somewhat or much lower outnumber almost 2:1 those (20%) who say today that their depression level is somewhat or much higher than they recalled it being two years ago.

While reporting stable or declining rates of actual depression, Canadians are also reporting nominally higher rates of clinical diagnosis of depress--both personally (14% versus 11% in 1992) and of friends/family (47% versus 40% in 1992). One possible explanation is that the reported changes are more apparent than real, and that both the true rates of actual depression and of clinical diagnosis have remained stable. Another explanation is that healthcare personnel are diagnosing patients more quickly and reliably. Still another explanation is that heightened awareness of depression including heightened public discussion and clinical diagnosis is leading to modestly lower rates of depression as a result of better treatment. Finally, in a variant of the principle that "misery likes company," rates of depression may have abated as a result of increased public discussion and clinical recognition of the phenomenon. Individuals prone to depression became less likely to be depressed as a result of realising that they were not alone in their predicament.

Back to top

Work is a major contributor to Canadians’ feelings of serious stress. This portrait emerges from responses to the following questions:

• Which of the following things has or does contribute to any feelings of serious stress you may have? [ROTATE AND RECORD MULTIPLE RESPONSES]
• [Among employed Canadians] Would you say that your work and your workplace is a major, moderate, minor, or not a source of stress and anxiety in your life?
• [Among employed Canadians] Do you feel that the amount of stress you face in your work and your workplace has a very positive impact, somewhat positive, no impact, somewhat negative, or a very negative impact on how well you and other employees perform your jobs?
• [Among employed Canadians] Do you feel that your employer is doing a very effective, somewhat effective, not very effective, or not at all effective job dealing with employee stress in your workplace?

When presented with the list of stressors as in the first above-listed question, half (51%) of Canadians select work as a contributor to serious stress. A near equal proportion (48%) chooses financial problems as a stressor (see table 4 below). Compared to 1997, work appears to have become a larger contributor to stress—up from 39% to 51% today.

Table 4: Which of the following things has or does contribute to any feelings of serious stress you may have
[ROTATE AND RECORD MULTIPLE RESPONSES]

Note: Percent does not sum to 100% because more than one response was accepted

Back to top

In an illustration of the maxim, "where I sit is where I stand", contributors to Canadians’ stress levels vary predictably according to key demographic indicators. Financial problems are less likely to be volunteered as stressors by high income earners--30% among those earning over $100,000 and 35% among those earning $70,000-$99,999 compared to 48% rate of mention among Canadians as a whole.

Table 5: Contributors to Stress by Age

Women appear to carry the stress burden of home life. Thus, females are more apt to feel that parenting is a stressor (40% versus 26% among men), as are Canadians with children living at home full time (56% compared to 15% among households without children living at home full-time). Meanwhile single Canadians are least apt to view parenting as a stressor (15% compared to an overall 33%).

As might be expected, health problems, aging, and eldercare increase as stressors with age. For example, 47% of those aged 65 or over worry about ageing compared to 17% of those aged 35-44, and 3% of those aged 18-24 (see table 5, above, for a full distribution of responses)

Respondents who are currently employed were specifically asked about work and the workplace as a source of stress. In their replies, 25% say that work and their workplace is a major source of stress and anxiety in their lives and another 38% say that it is a moderate source of stress. Meanwhile 24% say that work is a minor source of stress and 14%, not a source of stress. Work is as great of a source of stress for Canadians now as indeed it was in 1997, when 58% of respondents asserted that work was a major or moderate source of stress (see table 6 below).

Table 6: Would you say that your work and your workplace is a major, moderate, minor, or not a source of stress and anxiety in your life?

The good news is that stress in the workplace is not necessarily seen as a bad thing. In a dramatic reversal since the 1997 study, Canadians are now more inclined to see workplace stress in a positive way rather than in a negative way. Respondents who are currently employed were asked: "Do you feel that the amount of stress you face in your work and your workplace has a very positive impact, somewhat positive, no impact, somewhat negative, or a very negative impact on how well you and other employees perform your jobs?" Today, 41% say that the amount of stress they face in their workplace has a somewhat or very positive impact on employee performance—up from 30% four years ago, as shown in table 7, below. Meanwhile, 34% report that their workplace stress has had a somewhat or very negative impact on their job performance—down from 42% four years ago, as shown in table 7.

Table 7: Do you feel that the amount of stress you face in your work and your workplace has a very positive impact, somewhat positive, no impact, somewhat negative, or a very negative impact on how well you and other employees perform your jobs?

Bosses Get Better Grades for Workplace Stress than Four years Ago

Of particular good news for employers is that a majority of working Canadians think that their bosses are effective in dealing with employee stress in the workplace. In practice, 60% of working Canadians think that their employers are somewhat effective or effective —up from 44% four years ago, as shown in table 8 below. Meanwhile only 40% think that employers are not very effective or not at all effective. By comparison, 57% thought that their employers were not very effective or not at all effective four years ago.

Table 8: Do you feel that your employer is doing a very effective, somewhat effective, not very effective, or not at all effective job dealing with employee stress in your workplace?

Responses to Stress

Meditation and Exercise Trump Talking as Stress Relievers

Canadians appear to prefer to deal with stress through exercise and meditation/relaxation over talking and other forms of stress relieve. In response to an open-ended prompt, 21% said that exercise was the main way they coped with stress and another 19% said that they beat stress through relaxation or meditation. Canadians’ propensity to turn to these methods of stress relief has increased since the 1997 study—a total of 40% today compared to 28% four years ago. Meanwhile, Canadians appear to have become slightly less likely to deal with stress by talking to others over the last four years—21% today vs. 15% in 1997.

Some Increased Caution about Confiding

Canadians’ waning inclination to turn to others may be linked to their declining desire to let bosses or friends know if they were getting treatment for stress. Respondents were asked the following question "Thinking about stress for a moment…If you were getting treatment or counselling for stress… would this be something that you definitely would, probably would, probably would not, or definitely would not want [YOUR BOSS AND YOUR FRIEND] to know?" In practice, 44% would probably or definitely want their boss to know and 54% would probably or definitely want their friends to know about their counselling. In the 1997 study, 50% of Canadians indicated that they would probably or definitely want their boss to know and 69% would definitely or probably want their friends to know. Canadians appear to have become more cautious especially about confiding to friends—54% probably or definitely confide to friends today vs. 69% four years ago.

Back to top

Who Confides the Most

As reported above, Canadians were asked to indicate the main ways in which they cope with stress. Canadians who report dealing with stress by talking to others are more comfortable letting their bosses or friends know if they were getting counselling than are those who resort to exercise, meditation, or other alternatives to talking. Among people who resort to talking as a stress reliever, 56% would probably or definitely want their boss to know of they were taking counselling. This compares to 44% among respondents as a whole. Meanwhile, 67% of those who would resort to talking as a stress reliever would confide to their friends about counselling compared to 54% of respondents as a whole.

The propensity to let bosses know about counselling is related to propensity to let friends know. For example, 69% of those who definitely would not want their friends to know would likewise definitely not want their boss to know. Similarly, 57% of those who would definitely want their friends to know would also definitely want their boss to know (see table 9).

Table 9: Desire to Let Boss Know About Counselling by Desire to Let Friends Know

Females are especially apt to be willing to let friends know if they are receiving counselling. In practice, 62% of women would probably or definitely want their friends to know compared to 45% of men.

In a pattern that is consistent with their declining desire to let their bosses or friends know about counselling for stress, Canadians also appear less likely to want their bosses or friends to know about their counselling for depression. Top-two box (i.e. probably and definitely would) scores are down from 1992 concerning wanting to let bosses (42% versus 49% in 1992), and friends (50% versus 70% in 1992) know about personal counselling for depression. Top-two box scores also appear to be lower as far as letting friends know about a family member’s depression counselling (44% versus 62% in 1992).

There appears to be a relationship between desire to let bosses know about depression counselling and desire to let friends know. Those who are apt to let friends know are also apt to let their bosses know about depression counselling. For example, 79% of those who definitely would not want their friends to know also would definitely not want their boss to know. Similarly, 71% of those who definitely would want their friends to know also would definitely want their boss to know (see table 10 below)

Table 10 Desire to Let Boss Know About Depression Counselling by Desire to Let Friends Know About Depression Counselling

There appears to be a positive relationship between willingness to let boss/friend know about depression counselling and willingness to let boss/friend know about stress counselling. Thus, those who are more inclined to let their boss or friends know about stress counselling are also more inclined to let their boss or friends know about depression counselling. For example, as shown (along the diagonal) in table 11 below, 81% of those who would definitely not want their boss to know if they were getting stress counselling would also definitely not want their boss to know if they were getting depression counselling. Similarly, 78% of those who definitely would want their boss to know if they were getting counselling for stress also definitely would want their boss to know if they were getting counselling for depression.

Table 11 Desire to Let Boss Know About Depression Counselling by Desire to Let Boss Know About Stress Counselling

Females are more willing than men to let friends know if they or one of their family members were getting counselling for depression. For example, concerning their own counselling 60% of women would definitely or probably want their friends to know compared to 41% of men. Similarly, 55% of women would definitely or probably want friends to know if a family member were getting treatment or counselling for depression compared to 34% of men.

Back to top

Psychologists and Medical Professionals Most Credible, Government Least Credible Psychologists and Medical Professions Tops in Credibility, Federal Officials at the Bottom

Psychologists and medical professionals such as psychiatrists and family doctors are most credible while the government is least credible in terms of disseminating information about issues related to mental health, according to Canadians. Respondents were asked to rate the credibility of the various groups listed in the table below vis-à-vis providing the public with information about mental health issues. Psychologists are seen as most credible (mean 5.2) followed by psychiatrists (mean 5.1), family doctors (mean 5.0), and groups who represent patients and their families (mean 5.0). These four groups were also seen as the most credible in the 1992 COMPAS/CMHA study, as evidenced in table 12, below. Provincial Health officials are seen as the least credible source (mean 3.6), as they were in 1992 (mean 3.5).

Table 12: "I am going to read to you a list of groups who might speak out on issues relating to mental health in Canada and might be involved in providing the public with information. Please tell me how credible you believe each group is on mental health issues by giving me a rating on a scale of 1 meaning not at all credible to 7 meaning very credible." [Rotate]

Respondents categorize the various groups who might speak out on issues relating to mental health as either healthcare professionals or government. This conclusion flows from a multi-variate analysis of credibility ratings. Exploratory factor analysis yielded two distinct factors, or categories of players:

• Healthcare professionals: comprised of "psychologists" (factor loading of .89), "psychiatrists" (.82), "other healthcare professionals like social workers and counsellors" (.57), "family doctors" (.47), and "groups who represent patients and their families" (.45)
• Government: comprised of "representatives of your Provincial Ministry of Health" (.88), "representatives of the Federal Government such as Health Canada" (.88), and "pharmaceutical companies who manufacture medications to treat mental illness" (.50)

Closer examination of the emerging factors yields the following:

• All groups associated with the healthcare professional factor elicit higher credibility scores compared to the groups associated with the government factor – healthcare professional related group means range from 4.7 to 5.2, government related group means range from 3.6 to 3.9.
• The fact that "pharmaceutical companies" loads with the government factor may be an indication that the lines between the private and public sector have been blurred, particularly since pharmaceuticals are such a heavily regulated industry

Family doctors are most able to retain their credibility as Canadians age. As shown in table 13 below, all groups appear to lose credibility among older Canadians. Among the youngest Canadians (i.e. aged 18-24), mean credibility scores of the various groups range from 4.3 to 5.8. Among the oldest Canadians (i.e. aged 65 or over), mean credibility scores of the various groups range from 3.2 to 5.3.

Family doctors have near equal credibility among the youngest (mean 5.4) and oldest (mean 5.3) Canadians. In contrast, the Federal Government suffers the largest drop in credibility among cohorts with a mean of 4.8 among the youngest Canadians (aged 18-24) and a mean of 3.4 among the oldest (aged 65 or over).

Table 13: Credibility Scores by Cohort

Back to top