Mental health of young Australians: dealing with a public health crisis

McGorry, Patrick D.; Coghill, David; Berk, Michael

doi:10.5694/mja2.52047

Cited by 11 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…This indicates that students' mental health and wellbeing has not fully recovered to prepandemic levels -a finding consistent with wider research that has documented continually lower levels of youth mental health and wellbeing post-pandemic (McGorry et al, 2023).…”

Section: Percentages Of Staff and Students Stratified By The Mhc-sf C...supporting

confidence: 77%

How do institutional, psychosocial, and individual factors influence staff mental wellbeing in Australian higher education? Findings from a cross-sectional study

Kent,

Luu,

Gresham

et al. 2024

Preprint

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There is increasing attention on how universities assess and address mental health and wellbeing among staff and students. Surveying population-level mental health and wellbeing in higher education is a significant methodological challenge. In this article, we present a comprehensive, multi-faceted, and multi-level approach to mental health and wellbeing-related measurement through institution-wide survey research. The approach measures high-level institutional factors (the overarching psychosocial safety climate [PSC] of a university), medium-level psychosocial factors (risk and protective factors relating to study or work), and ground-level individual factors (mental wellbeing, emotional exhaustion, and engagement). We collected and analysed data over three years at one Australian university (n=7,459, comprising 4,682 staff and 2,777 students). In a world-first comparison, across 20 university areas, we found that PSC was negatively related to emotional exhaustion among both staff and students. Moreover, emotional exhaustion among university staff was positively related to emotional exhaustion among students. Through multi-year data collection and analysis, we educated institutional stakeholders on the complex, multi-level, and collective nature of mental health and wellbeing in higher education. Consequently, there is high-level decision-making in train to make PSC a key performance indicator for the institution. This evidences knowledge translation and mobilisation. It also reflects a paradigm shift at the level of university leadership, re-orienting toward an upstream, proactive approach to assessing how institutional conditions shape mental health and wellbeing – rather than retaining a downstream, responsive approach that relies on measures of psychosocial injury, mental ill-health, and support-seeking.

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Section: Percentages Of Staff and Students Stratified By The Mhc-sf C...supporting

confidence: 77%

How do institutional, psychosocial, and individual factors influence staff mental wellbeing in Australian higher education? Findings from a cross-sectional study

Kent,

Luu,

Gresham

et al. 2024

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Our findings highlight the importance of considering multiple domains of social exclusion simultaneously; these domains often intersect and interact, leading to increased negative effects on mental health. These findings are particularly relevant in the context of the current youth mental health crisis, with an urgent need to understand drivers, and identify modifiable, malleable risk factors to inform effective interventions and reform 24 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interrelationships between social exclusion, mental health and wellbeing in adolescents: insights from a national Youth Survey

Filia,

Teo,

Brennan

et al. 2023

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Background: Adolescence is a critical developmental phase during which young people are vulnerable to the experiences of mental ill-health and social exclusion (consisting of various domains including education and employment, housing, finances and social supports and relationships). The aims of this study were to: (i) obtain an understanding of the relationships between social exclusion, mental health and wellbeing of young people; and (ii) identify potentially modifiable targets, or population groups that require greater or targeted supports.Methods: Data was obtained from the Mission Australia 2022 Youth Survey, Australia’s largest annual population-wide survey of young people aged 15-19 years (n=18,800). Participants’ experiences of social exclusion in different domains were explored (e.g., prevalence, co-occurrence, and controlling for differences in demographic characteristics). Multivariable linear regression models were used to map the relationships between social exclusion domains and mental health and wellbeing, controlling for confounding factors where necessary.Results: 60% of all young people experienced social exclusion in at least one domain, 25% in multiple. Young people who identified as gender diverse, Indigenous, living in a remote/rural or socioeconomically disadvantaged area, and with a culturally diverse background were more likely to report social exclusion. A strong association was seen between all domains of social exclusion and poor mental health (e.g., higher psychological distress and loneliness, reduced personal wellbeing, reduced sense of control over their life, and a more negative outlook on the future). Notably, difficulties in socialising and obtaining social support were critical factors linked to increased psychological distress and reduced wellbeing. Conclusions: Findings underscore the need to address multiple domains of social exclusion concurrently, and in collaboration with youth mental health care. Prevention efforts aimed at early identification and intervention should be prioritised to support young people vulnerable to social exclusion. Screening approaches are needed to identify individuals and groups of young people in need of support, and to facilitate care coordination across multiple providers.

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“…However, many of these interventions have been concerned primarily with early detection and help-seeking, and focus on risk factors (e.g., substance use; bullying; social media; etc see [13,14], with fewer focussing on enhancing positive mental health [15]. Further, these interventions appear to be having limited impact at population levels; for example Mohr et al point to the deteriorating mental health of young people in Nordic countries [10], the World Health Organisation points to increasing rates of suicide and depression amongst young people across the globe [16], and the mental health of young Australians has recently described as a 'public health crisis' [17]. Maidment & Carbone also concluded that 'Australia is experiencing a youth mental health crisis' and called for a new approach to build a mental health promotion system for young people [18].…”

Section: Young People and Mental Healthmentioning

confidence: 99%

Young People’s responses to the Population Wide Act-Belong-Commit Mental Health Promotion Campaign: Implications for Youth Mental Health Interventions

Donovan,

Drane,

Miller

et al. 2024

Preprint

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This paper reports data from three sources showing young people’s positive responses to the population-wide Act-Belong-Commit mental health promotion campaign: (i) impact on 14-25 year old participants in a peer-educator workshop program; (ii) impact on 11-14 year old student participants in an adaptation of the campaign in secondary schools (the ‘Mentally Healthy Schools Framework’); and (iii) impact of the population wide media-based campaign on 18-24 and 25-34 year olds in the general population (versus those 35+ years). Overall, these findings support the conclusion that mental health promotion interventions can be based on underlying constructs relevant across the lifespan and then tailored for specific ages and settings rather than requiring the development of separate, distinct programs based on different constructs for younger age groups.

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Mental health of young Australians: dealing with a public health crisis

Cited by 11 publications

References 16 publications

How do institutional, psychosocial, and individual factors influence staff mental wellbeing in Australian higher education? Findings from a cross-sectional study

How do institutional, psychosocial, and individual factors influence staff mental wellbeing in Australian higher education? Findings from a cross-sectional study

Interrelationships between social exclusion, mental health and wellbeing in adolescents: insights from a national Youth Survey

Young People’s responses to the Population Wide Act-Belong-Commit Mental Health Promotion Campaign: Implications for Youth Mental Health Interventions

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