A new study about Australia’s Youth released by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) last week focuses on the increased challenges faced by young Australians as a result of the COVID pandemic.
The report revealed the heightened impacts of the COVID restrictions on Australian youth aged between 15-24 years old, compared to older age groups, particularly highlighting psychological distress, job loss and education disruption as a result.
In the stages of adolescence and young adulthood, young people are in critical transitional phases of life. After finishing school, young people begin to pursue further educational and training programs, or enter the workforce. It is at this time in young people’s lives that they are building the foundations for their future life, health and well-being. However, for many young Australians these pathways have been disrupted as a result of the pandemic.
Results from the study found that “the proportion of young people aged between 15-24 not in education, employment or training has risen from 8.7% in May 2019, to 12% in May 2020” following the introduction of COVID restrictions.
The study revealed that injury rates of young people, “remains the leading cause of death among young people, accounting for 73% of deaths in 2017-19. Just over half of injury deaths (54%) were intentional, with the remainder classified as unintentional or undetermined intent.”
“These results are consistent with the high demand and increased complexity of young people presenting at Triple Care Farm. Over 90% of young people seeking help from drug and alcohol addiction have underlying mental health issues and the majority have had suicidal ideation,” said Helen Connealy, General Manager, Sir David Martin Foundation.
“It is positive news that the report shows levels of risky drinking, daily smoking and recent illicit drug use have fallen dramatically over the last two decades,” said Ms Connealy.
“However we know that vulnerable young people with complex mental health, continue to self-medicate to ease their pain. Triple Care Farm is one of the few youth specific treatment centres to offer holistic care to help them get well and stay well.”
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If you want to read the AIHW full report about Australia’s Youth, you can access it here.
To learn more about Triple Care Farm, you can read our Annual Report for 2019-2020.
