More young Australians are concerned about mental health, survey finds

Mental health has been revealed to be a concern among young Australians. The number of people concerned about it has doubled in the last two years.

These are the findings of the Mission Australia’s most recent Youth Survey. It looked into the views of over 24,000 people aged 15-19. Up to 33.7 percent of respondents said mental health was their top issue. It is comparable to 14.9 percent who said the same thing in 2015.

Mission Australia CEO James Toomey said the latest findings show that more work has to be done when it comes to protecting the mental state of the young ones. Toomey offered a piece of advice for friends and family members of young people dealing with challenges. “I can tell you from experience that family members and friends need to know how to navigate the bewildering variety of services and information sources that are available, and be provided with targeted information about mental health first aid and other practical supports that exist,” he said.

Despite being generally considered as the selfie-obsessed millennials amid social media boom, teens also cope with stress and depression. They may also be worried about their body image. Young people considered mental health as a key barrier to reaching their goals. Academic ability and financial difficulty were also seen as barriers.

Toomey added that the findings show how young people from Australia are engaged with the more comprehensive social issues that affect their lives. He sees the young ones as future leaders, so they must be given a voice and opportunities to engage in decisions that will impact their lives.

Young Aussies are also concerned about drugs and alcohol, with 32 percent of those surveyed citing it as the top issue, while 27.3 percent were concerned about equity and discrimination. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders are dealing with greater challenges than their peers with higher levels of personal worry about safety, discrimination and drugs.

They were also more concerned about bullying. But they had a similar confidence in achieving post-school goals in spite of the greater challenges.

Toomey said the underlying causes of substance misuse must be urgently addressed as it would lessen the negative impacts on young people. He also believes there must be prevention and early intervention programs for the younger generation.