The Concerns of Young Australians
In 2007 Mission Australia conducted its sixth annual survey of young Australians. This survey was for those aged 11 to 24 years and explored what young people value, what concerns them, where they turn for advice and support, their level of engagement in the community and who they admire. Close to 29,000 young people from communities across Australia participated, providing a rich source of information on some key areas of their lives.
I would like to share here some of the results. The survey showed, for example, that of the young people surveyed: over three quarters highly valued family relationships; body image was a major concern for one in three; and close to 90% sought advice and support from their friends when they had a problem.
This type of data is valuable to a range of individuals and organisations concerned about young people, including families and schools, as well as those designing and implementing policies and programs to support young people. The 2007 survey also collected direct quotes from around 700 young people who completed the survey on-line. This information, using the words of young people themselves, offers additional insights on the nature, depth and type of concerns of young Australians. The comments, whilst not necessarily representative of all young Australians, complement the information offered by the numerical data.
Respondents to the 2007 national survey of young Australians were asked to rank the issues that concerned them from drugs and alcohol, bullying and self-harm to discrimination, suicide, and other issues. The respondents identified the top three issues as body image, family conflict, and coping with stress. There were an additional ten issues of ‘significant concern’ to at least one in five young people, suggesting that a complex mix of issues are of concern to young Australians.
Some respondents indicated they were generally happy with life but still concerned about their body, whilst others referred to the potential impact of poor body image. For other young people there was a strong call for a societal re-think about what is seen as ‘beautiful’ and ‘important’. Some of their comments include: This, from an 18-year-old girl, ‘Body image has been the main contribution of bullying and lack of self confidence.’ A 16-year-old boy remarked ‘The image that kids are getting about body and mind image from TV shows such as Big Brother is appalling, absolutely disgusting.’
Family relationships were highly valued by over three quarters of all young people who responded to the survey. It is therefore perhaps not surprising that family conflict was a major concern for close to 30% of all respondents. There was a strong sense from a number of comments about the effect of family conflict on young people. ‘When you fight with your family it brings you down,’ explained a 15-year-old boy. A young woman of 21 said, ‘When the closest relationships to us, meaning our family, are unhealthy, everything else is set off-balance!’
A number of comments were made about mental health and wellbeing, as three quarters of mental illnesses begin between the ages of 15 and 25 years, and depression and anxiety are the most common mental health problems for young Australians. They said things like: ‘Everyone is under too much pressure to meet other people’s standards… it can become obsessive and dangerous for people’ – that insight was from a 13-year-old girl’. ‘Teenagers today are expected to be involved in too much. Our childhood is being taken from us by alcohol and sexual activity, and expectation to be mature by those around us.’ This was a comment from a 16-year-old girl.
All of the comments obtained through this important survey reveal the very real concerns of a cross-section of our Australian young people, and are worthy of our careful attention and future action on their behalf.
Reference: In their own words: Insights into the concerns of young Australians, Mission Australia, April 2008.
