Skip to main content

One THIRD of Australian teens have considered self-harm as mental health crisis deepens

About one-third of Australian adolescents have considered self-harm, with girls more likely than boys to report incidents and thoughts of self-harm.

The findings come from the 'Growing Up in Australia: The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children' report, a survey of children when they were aged 14-15 and 16-17.

The study found that thirty per cent of respondents had considered non-suicidal self-harm between the ages of 14 and 17, while 18 per cent reported acts of self-harm.

Report co-author, Pilar Rioseco, says the findings are concerning, especially in light of signs of worsening mental health in the coronavirus pandemic.

Study found that thirty per cent of respondents had considered non-suicidal self-harm between the ages of 14 and 17, while 18 per cent reported acts of self-harm (stock image)

Study found that thirty per cent of respondents had considered non-suicidal self-harm between the ages of 14 and 17, while 18 per cent reported acts of self-harm (stock image)

'Ultimately, self-injury thoughts and behaviours need to be seen for what they are - a response to mounting stress and a way of relieving emotional pain,' Dr Rioseco said.

'There's an urgent need for integrated care involving families, schools, and communities to enhance safety among these distressed young people in both the short and long term.'

Some 42 per cent of girls reported thinking about self-harm at 14-15 or 16-17, compared to 18 per cent of boys.

Similarly, 26 per cent of girls reported acts of self‑harm at 14-15 or 16-17, compared to 9 per cent of boys.

'While both genders are experiencing high rates of self-injury thoughts and behaviours, it is alarming to see how much more common it is among girls,' Dr Rioseco said.

Repeated self-harm over time was strongly associated with suicidal behaviour, 65 per cent of those who engaged in repeated self-injury reported attempting suicide at age 16-17.

Same-sex attracted children were more likely to report having self-harmed.

'As a same-sex attracted person, you are potentially living with the stress of being a stigmatised minority,' Dr Rioseco said.

'Despite progress over the last few years, same-sex attracted adolescents may still find they have to contend with harassment, discrimination and bias from family, peers and schools.'

The study, facilitated by the Australian Institute of Family Studies, has followed the lives of 10,000 children across the country since 2004.

They were surveyed about self-harm in 2014 and 2016.

Lifeline 13 11 14

Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800 (for people aged 5 to 25)

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Taliban's medieval justice: The corpses of three 'criminals' are hoisted from diggers in Herat after they 'invaded another man's home and tried to rob him' in Afghanistan

The bodies of three alleged criminals were hung from diggers in Afghanistan by the Taliban, harrowing pictures released today show. According to deputy governor Mawlawi Shir Ahmad Muhajir, the three men were killed by another man when they entered his home in Obe district in Herat province. In the graphic images shared on social media, the corpses are shown publicly hoisted into the air and hanging by their necks from the raised arms of two diggers as people below watch on and take photographs. Tuesday's gruesome publicly display is yet another example of the kind of practices that feed international concern that the Taliban have returned to their brutal ways last seen when they were in control of Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001. This is despite the Taliban frequently insisting to the world that it has changed from the hard-line Islamic group that doled out brutal punishments to criminals and greatly restricted the rights of the country's citizens, particularly women and girls. P...

Gambino family underboss dies in prison from 'health issues' at the age of 89: Daughter 'rushed to be by her father's side and he sang Frank Sinatra as he took his last breath'

Frank LoCascio, the Dapper Don's former underboss and acting consigliere, passed away Friday after serving 31 years of a life sentence A Gambino crime family underboss who stayed loyal to John Gotti even as the pair were hit with life sentences during a 1992 murder and racketeering trial has died in prison at age 89. Frank LoCascio, the Dapper Don's former underboss and acting consigliere, passed away Friday at the Federal Medical Center, Devens - a facility that houses federal prisoners with health issues - in Massachusetts. His daughter, Lisa LoCascio, was by his side as he took his last breaths.  LoCascio had been incarcerated for 31 years before his death last week after famously refusing to snitch on notorious mob boss Gotti during their infamous and highly publicized trial.  What's more, the high-ranking mafioso managed to cheat death during his three decades in the pen even with Gotti as his enemy, after the Teflon Don turned on him and put a 'contract' on hi...

The Texas abortion ban sends mixed signals about the future of Roe v. Wade.

Legal experts say it is still unclear how the Supreme Court will rule on long-standing abortion guarantees, which it plans to review later this year. Despite uproar from activist organizations that see the move as a de facto departure from the 1973 ruling, the Supreme Court's failure to act on Texas's near-total abortion ban does not necessarily mean Roe v. Wade is dead. Legal experts say it is unclear how the Supreme Court will rule on long-standing guarantees for abortion, which it plans to review later this year when it hears a direct appeal against this important ruling. Texas' first-of-its-kind law allows individuals, not the government, to impose a six-week ban on abortion and file lawsuits against health professionals or anyone who helps someone get an abortion. Clinics and other potential claimants will find it more difficult to establish their position in court or to determine a specific target for satisfying claims due to the unusual enforcement mechanism. Judges...