We followed the mental health of Australian teenagers. The message is not good – and the problems are worse for girls

We know that juvenile people in Australia and all over the world are experiencing growing mental health challenges.

Latest National Survey Almost two out of five (38.8%) 16-24-year-olds have been found from the Australian statistics office, experienced the symptoms of a mental disorder over the past 12 months.

It was much higher than the recent study in 2007when this number was 26%.

We published New study Today, looking at the indicators of mental health problems among Australian high school students. We discovered that almost one in four high school students report problems with mental health up to 10 years-and the situation is worse for girls and teenagers varied by gender.

Tracking the mental health of teenagers

IN Our studyPublished in the Australian and Novel Zealand Journal of Public Health, we looked at the symptoms of mental health in over 6,500 Australian teenagers and how these symptoms changed over time.

We surveyed high school students from 71 schools a year from 7 years (12/13) to 10 years (aged 15/16). Our attempt, although not representative in the country, includes a immense cross -section of schools in Novel South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia.

Over time, we found that the symptoms of mental health problems were constantly growing:

• In 7 years, 17% of surveyed students reported symptoms that met the criteria for likely depression, will enhance to 28% to 10 year
• About 14% of students reported high mental stress in 7 years, rising to 24% in 10
• Reporting the proportion of moderate to severe anxiety increased from 16% in 7 to 24% in the year 10.

Which teens were the most arduous?

We looked at how the symptoms of mental health in time were associated with various social factors, such as gender, cultural origin and the wealth of the family. We also looked at school factors such as how it depends on school.

We found clear differences in mental health according to sex, wealth and school advantage. Girls and gender various teenagers had higher symptoms in 7 years and a pointed enhance in symptoms over four years, compared to their peers.

Until 10, compared to men, women had average results of symptoms, which were 88% higher in the case of depression, 34% higher in the case of anxiety and 55% higher in the case of mental stress (in models adapted to other factors).

Again, compared to men and adapted models, the diverse sex of teenagers had the results of symptoms in 10 years, which were 121% higher in the case of depression, 55% higher in the case of anxiety and 89% higher in the case of mental stress.

Teens from the least prosperous families had 7% higher depressive symptoms than people from the most affluent families in adapted models, while teenagers attending the least dependent schools had 9% higher anxiety symptoms than teenagers attending the most recommended schools.

Then we examined how sex and wealth influenced to affect mental health. Girls in the group of the lowest wealth experienced increased anxiety and depressive symptoms beyond the effects of wealth or sex.

This shows how many factors can be found, causing a greater risk of bad mental health for some juvenile people.

Although we were able to examine a wide range of factors, the limitation of our study was that we could not examine All Social factors that can affect mental health. For example, we could not determine the potential differences experienced by teens Aborigines and/or Torres Strait Islander or living in distant and very distant areas.

How do these data compare themselves to other studies?

The last Australian data from a similar age of teenagers is uncommon. However, 2015 Young minds matter The study showed that 14.4% of 12-17-year-olds have experienced a mental disorder in the last 12 months.

Higher indicators of mental health challenges that we observed in our study are probably consistent Recent evidence Sugging “cohort effects” – where every generation has worse mental health than before it. Research still examines the causes of these trends, and the query possibilities include everything from social media to climate change. But it seems that no factor is guilty.

Kovid Pandemic also played a role, and juvenile people seem to be hit particularly hard by the influence on the mental health of Pandemic.

In particular, gender differences between girls and boys are supported by data Global researchShowing that this is not an extremely Australian phenomenon.

What can we do with sex division into mental health?

Thanks to the mental care system extended outside the capacity, it is crucial to prevent and solve mental health problems in advance. Although this requires a multi -layer approach, an critical place to start is to reduce these gender inequalities in mental health.

In addition to the scope of this study, the growing field of research interrogates why there are gender differences in mental health. Identified factors include:

These areas indicate the possibilities of potential solutions, but taking care of these factors requires initiatives.

Promising, many of these factors were mentioned in National Health Strategy of Women. Thanks to the health of women of the central platform of the Albanian government election campaign, I hope that we will see more investments in research and politics to solve these problems.

Importantly, our study showed that gender inequalities in mental health were even more pronounced for teenagers of different sexes, so it should not be only on girls and women.

We need to design solutions with juvenile people

Teen mental health is not something that we can solve with one size. We need strategies that are It was significantly designed together with juvenile people themselves. The initiatives can then be adapted to meet their unique needs and reflect their various experiences.

When we work directly with priority groups, such as girls, diverse sex and people experiencing socio-economic defects, we can offer secure, culturally appropriate and confirming solutions. This helps teenagers to feel seen, heard and supported – all key ingredients for better mental health.

If this article has raised problems for you or you are worried about someone you know, call Lifeline to number 13 11 14 or for children at 1800 55 1800.