The kids are not alright: Is Australia in the midst of a youth mental health crisis?

by Jessican Bahr via SBS News - all content duplicated from original article

Loneliness and psychological distress are decreasing in most age groups — but for young people, it's getting worse.

Australia's young people are becoming lonelier and experiencing more psychological distress, and school-aged students are struggling with resilience and wellbeing.

A new report has found loneliness and distress have increased since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and that it's getting worse amongst younger demographics.

So why are so many young Australians struggling to connect, and just how bad is it?

Loneliness rising among young people

The Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) report from the University of Melbourne offers ongoing insight into the nation's health, social lives and employment market.

The latest survey was done in 2021 when most of Australia was in lockdown and involved 17,000 people from 9,000 households.

Before 2008, those aged 15 to 24 tended to have the lowest rates of loneliness, but this group now has the highest proportion of loneliness.

In 2001 about 18.5 per cent of the 15 to 24 age group were classified as being lonely; in 2020 and 2021 this proportion was 26.6 per cent and 24.8 per cent respectively.

Young people report higher rates of loneliness compared to other age groups, according to the HILDA survey. Source: SBS News

All other age groups had fewer lonely people in 2021 than in 2001.

Jackie Hallam, interim CEO of online youth mental health service ReachOut, said loneliness is connected with numerous health issues.

"When we've looked at the research of how that's impacting young people, it's impacting things like their mood, and that can cause further stress and challenges in relationships," she said.

"It can also impact your sleep, and those things all start to feed into each other, which then can be a bit of a cycle, and it's harder to take those small steps that you need to be more connected if it's impacting your overall mental health and wellbeing."

Are more young people struggling with mental health?

According to the report, since 2013, more Australians have been experiencing some form of psychological distress, including regularly feeling nervous, hopeless, restless, depressed, worthless, or tired "for no good reason".

Over time, there has been a rise in young people feeling distressed, with numbers in the 15 to 24 age group rising from 18.4 per cent in 2011 to 42.3 per cent in 2021.

Distress was also prevalent in the next age group, 25 to 34, at a rate of 32.7 per cent.

Ferdi Botha, senior research fellow at the University of Melbourne, said the rising prevalence of psychological distress and loneliness appear to be linked.

"You're seeing increases in loneliness, you're seeing increases in distress, and it's most likely caused by feelings of loneliness — and of course, it could go the other way," he said.

"And if you're already feeling depressed, that might exacerbate how lonely you feel and how disconnected you feel from other people, and that coupled with the declining trend in social contact and how often people meet with friends and family physically is not a positive trend."

Depression and anxiety symptoms common in children

While the HILDA research highlighted the 15 to 24-year-old age group, many school-aged children are also struggling with mental health.

The University of Adelaide's 2023 State of the Nation report found between 40 and 50 per cent of students reported high levels of disengagement and falling levels of hope, across all ages and genders.

Almost half (42.3 per cent) of people aged 15-24 were psychologically distressed in 2021, up from 18.4 per cent in 2011. Source: SBS News

Mark Kohler, a doctor of psychology at the university, said approximately 25 per cent of primary school-aged children and over 30 per cent of high school-aged children had symptoms of depression, anxiety, or both.

"The biggest issue is just the sheer volume of kids who, when you ask them, say that they're struggling with their mental health, be it sort of symptoms of depression, or being anxious, or just other things around how hopeful they are about the future or how satisfied they are with life," he sad.

"There's a really large proportion of kids who are in the most concerning category for those outcomes."

Why are young people struggling with mental health issues?

Botha said while HILDA research did not investigate causes of loneliness and psychological distress, the data does show some clues.

"When the trend starts increasing is around 2008 and 2009, and that really coincides also with the internet and social media, and smartphones (becoming more common)," he said.

"There's a theory that when young people are much more involved in social media, that makes them make comparisons to other people, so seeing other people's lives, comparing themselves to others, often thinking 'my life is worse than other people's,'" he said.

He said COVID-19 lockdowns, coupled with the growing online world, have led to many young people having fewer physical interactions and in-person connections with others.

Botha also noted that the increase in numbers could also be partially due to an increase in people talking about mental health, and a slight reduction in stigma.

How can we improve youth mental health?

Hallam said loneliness and youth mental health are "absolutely" a concern and in need of "youth-driven, personal solutions".

"Every young person's experience of this is going to be different and their need for connection and the ways they want to connect are going to be different.

"I think we need to understand that and provide a range of options for young people."

Kohler said he believes youth mental health is at a "crossroads", and could get either better or worse depending on systemic action.

"I think it's really now up to the government to make some really big decisions about where they might take this into the future, not just as a short-term solution, but as a real ongoing systemic solution in society," he said.

"Depending on what actions governments take, hopefully we can sort of see a levelling out of some of these trends and then hopefully later a decline.

"But it will really depend on some of those decisions."

Readers seeking advice or connection to services you can txt Youth Chat for free on 0455 117 339.

For immediate assistance call 000 or contact the crisis lines below

Kids Helpline - 1800 55 1800
For ages 5-25 – Available 24/7

Suicide Call Back Service - 1300 659 467
For ages 15+ – Available 24/7

1800 RESPECT
For all ages – Available 24/7