Mental health is the major concern for young people around the nation, according to a recent survey.
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The findings of Mission Australia’s 2018 Youth Survey reveals 45.3 per cent of respondents between the ages of 15 and 19 see it as their primary concern.
In comparison to last year’s survey, it represents a seven per cent increase.
But Wagga youth health advocate Pieta Manning sees the increase as a positive step forward.
“It doesn’t mean there are more problems with mental health, just that young people are now recognising mental health as important,” said Ms Manning.
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A total of 28,286 young people provided voluntary answers in this year’s survey, with about 10,000 of those living in regional areas.
Though much of the survey indicated similarity in the way city and regional young people view their world, there was a striking difference when it came to education opportunities.
While 71.3 per cent of city dwellers revealed plans to attend university, only 59 per cent indicated the same in the regions.
Many of the young people indicated that friends, family, and relatives were their chief confidante.
As a mother of two boys and two girls, ranging in age from 23 to 14, Ms Manning is pleased to see the admission.
“My two girls are 16 and 14, they’re right there in the middle of that wash and this kind of data can be really confronting,” said Ms Manning.
“It’s easy to say to them, ‘that’s nothing for you to worry about’, but saying that could close the door to any more conversations about their mental health. It might be shocking, but the doors are open now.”
Within the survey, a paramount difference exists between the way men and women responded to the same questions.
For women, 38.4 per cent were concerned about their mental health, and 23.1 per cent of men.
But well over half of the females said stress was of utmost concern, while only 26.2 per cent of men saw it as a similar concern.
“It seems like young men are generally less concerned about most things,” said Nada Nasser, Mission Australia director for NSW/Vic/ACT.
On the surface an indication of good grounding, Ms Nasser fears it may be the result of prevailing social pressures.
“There’s still that stigma around, that men shouldn’t worry about things,” she said.
Ms Manning is of a similar opinion.
“We live in a city that is full of men who have been taught not to talk about their mental health,” she said.
“We need to get to a point where both men and women are able to speak about what concerns them, without feeling any shame.”