Well-being Of Young Australians Research Articles

Suicide by young Australians, 2006-2015: a cross-sectional analysis of national coronial data.

To assess the demographic, social, and clinical characteristics of young Australians who die by suicide. Retrospective analysis of National Coronial Information System (NCIS) data. People aged 10-24 years who died by suicide in Australia during 2006-2015. Demographic, social, and clinical characteristics of young people who died by suicide; circumstances of death recorded in the NCIS. 3365 young people died of suicide during 2006-2015 (including 2473 boys and men, 73.5%); 1292 people (38.4%) lived in areas of greater socio-economic disadvantage. Free text reports were included in the NCIS for 3027 people (90%), of whom 1237 (40.9%) had diagnosed mental health disorders and 475 (15.7%) had possible mental health disorders. Alcohol consumption near the time of death was detected in 1015 of 3027 cases (33.5%); histories of self-harm were recorded in 940 cases (31.1%) and of illicit substance misuse in 852 (28.1%). Adverse life events included history of abuse or neglect (223, 7.4%), suicide of relatives, friends, or acquaintances (202, 6.7%), and financial difficulties (174, 5.8%). Three-quarters of the young people who died by suicide were boys or young men, and 57% had diagnosed or possible mental health disorders, suggesting that the mental health and wellbeing of young Australians should be a key target for youth suicide prevention. To reduce the number of youth suicides, it is imperative that prevention strategies target the mental health and psychosocial stressors that lead to suicidal crises in young people.

Study Protocol: 6th National Survey of Australian Secondary Students and Adolescent Sexual Health, 2018.

Introduction: Since 1992 the Australian Government has funded a periodic national survey of HIV and Sexually Transmissible Infection (STI) knowledge and sexual risk behavior among secondary school students. Adolescents continue to be a priority population in public health efforts to reduce rates of STIs in Australia. The purpose of the survey is to inform progress on national strategic sexual health priorities. The results are used by federal and state/territory government agencies, youth-serving community organizations and health educators to improve knowledge, promote healthy sexual behaviors and target educational efforts aimed at communicating public health messages to young people.Materials and Equipment: The 6th survey entitled the “National Survey of Secondary Students and Adolescent Sexual Health” was conducted online in 2018 among 14–18 year olds living in Australia. The anonymous self-complete survey contained up to 286 items assessing three primary domains of knowledge, behaviors and education experiences. Factual knowledge measures covered HIV transmission and STI knowledge around transmission and prevention covering gonorrhea, Chlamydia, syphilis, hepatitis, herpes, and HPV. Behavioral measures examined perceived susceptibility, peer norms, protective behaviors, age of onset for various behaviors, reasons for not being sexually active yet, and/or sexual histories with additional detail on most recent sexual event. The 6th survey was completed by 8,400 Australian adolescents a represents a broad cross-section by age, gender, year in school, type of school (e.g., government, Catholic), and state/territory which closely matched census data on these strata. The one-of-a-kind survey instrument, grounded in public health theories, may prove valuable for public health researchers.Expected Impact of the Study on Public Health: Findings from the 6th National Survey of Secondary Students and Adolescent Sexual Health will contribute important insights into current knowledge, behaviors and educational experiences of young people. Results, similar to previous iterations of the survey, will inform public health practitioners, policymakers, educators, and advocates for the sexual health and well-being of young Australians. Results may assist sexual health services to align with broader public health goals articulated in the national HIV and STI strategies aimed to reduce the burden of disease and improve the quality of sexual lives of young Australians.

A Role for the DRD4 Exon III VNTR in Modifying the Association Between Nicotine Dependence and Neuroticism

Neurotic psychopathology has been extensively examined as a risk factor for nicotine dependence (ND). Genetic stratification may partially explain variability in risk estimates. Genetic variants that compromise dopaminergic neurotransmission may motivate exposure to dopamine-stimulating agents, including nicotine. The 7-repeat allele of a Variable Number Tandem Repeat (VNTR) polymorphism in DRD4 (and evolutionary derivatives 5, 6, and 8 repeats; 7R+) is associated with reduced dopamine receptor function. The purpose of this study was to examine association between both smoking initiation (SI) and progression to ND by young adulthood and (a) history of neuroticism during adolescence, (b) DRD4 7R+, and (c) interaction between neuroticism and DRD4 7R+. Participants were drawn from the Victorian Adolescent Health Cohort Study, a longitudinal study of the health and well-being of young Australians across 8 waves (14-24 years). Neuroticism was measured at Waves 3 and 6 (mean 15.9 and 17.4 years). SI was defined as any smoking at any wave. ND was measured at Wave 8 (mean 24.1 years). Genotype data for the DRD4 VNTR were available for 839 participants. While adolescent neuroticism was associated with SI, evidence for association with progression to ND was weak. However, there was evidence of interaction between neuroticism and DRD4 7R+: The odds of progression to ND among those with a history of neuroticism were more than 3.5-fold higher among 7R+ carriers. Without considering stratification by 7R+, the association between progression to ND and neuroticism would have been assumed barely significant. However, among those carrying DRD4 7R+, risk of progression was considerably intensified.

MENTAL HEALTH AND LIFE SATISFACTION OF YOUNG AUSTRALIANS: THE ROLE OF FAMILY BACKGROUND

This paper uses the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey to investigate the factors that influence young Australians’ mental health and life satisfaction, with an emphasis upon the role of family background. It also explores male and female differences concerning those background effects. The results indicate a particularly significant negative association between parental divorce and well-being, and suggest that the timing of divorce matters. Distinguishing the samples by gender shows that this relationship remains significant only for females. Past living arrangements consistently turn out to be statistically insignificant whether the sample used is the total, males or females. The current living arrangements, however, appear to be significantly associated with both mental health and life satisfaction of males. Adding potentially confounding characteristics to our basic regression, which includes only the family background variables, suggests that some of the ‘aggregate’ effects of family background might work indirectly through the mediating variables such as education or lifestyles, though most of them remain direct. Among those, marital status, education, labour market experience and lifestyles seem to be the major factors explaining the dispersion in well-being of young Australians. Income and wealth, on the other hand, have only a minor impact.

The health and well-being of young Australians: Present patterns and future challenges

The orthodox view of the health and wellbeing of young Australians is one of continuing improvement. This picture underestimates the importance of adverse trends in a range of chronic physical and mental health problems. These have their sources in quite fundamental features of western societies, and optimizing health will mean making correspondingly fundamental social and cultural changes. To achieve this transformation, the politics of health must be seen as much more than the politics of healthcare services. Medicine and other health professions need better to recognize this if they are to continue to be part of the solution to better health, and not become part of the problem.

Life in a time of uncertainty: optimising the health and wellbeing of young Australians

Perceptions of young people's health and wellbeing vary greatly, reflecting differences between disciplines, ideologies and generations. Young people are resilient, adaptable and doing well but, at the same time, are experiencing increased rates of important mental and physical health problems. While some of the contradictions in the evidence can be explained--for example, between measures of life satisfaction and happiness and indicators of psychosocial health--tensions between perspectives remain. We describe briefly a project involving cross-disciplinary synthesis that sought to gain a better understanding of the points of convergence and divergence in the commentaries and evidence on young people's wellbeing in Australia. The project suggests that, if young people's situation is to be optimised, there needs to be greater focus in both research and policy on: the "big picture" of the social changes reshaping life today; total health and wellbeing, not just ill health; the "mainstream" of youth, not only those young people who are marginalised and at-risk; and social and cultural resources that are as important to wellbeing as material and economic resources.