New program tackles top concern from our Youth Survey

The Minister for Schools, Early Childhood and Youth, Peter Garrett, today cited findings from Mission Australia’s National Survey of Young Australians to launch a positive body image program for schools.

Mr Garrett referred to results from our 2010 survey of 50,000 young Australians, which revealed body image was one of their main concerns, to announce the Respect Every Body campaign.

“We know that body image is a major concern among today’s young people, with the National Survey of Young Australians conducted each year by Mission Australia consistently finding it to be among the top issues raised by youth,” he said.

Every school in Australia will be provided with new ‘Respect Every Body’ information packs to help promote positive body image and create supportive school environments. The posters and learning resources are being distributed to schools and available online, with students, teachers and parents able to use the information to learn how to tackle the subject of poor body image and related issues.

Each school will receive posters containing vital information on creating a body image-friendly school and a website with ‘conversation starter’ activities to support discussions among students and in the wider school community.
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“We’re also providing some practical ideas on how to develop a body image-friendly school,” Mr Garrett said. “The resources are not an additional part of the curriculum, but can be incorporated into existing subjects such as health or physical education.”

The information packs are on top of the work already being carried under the Australian Government’s National Body Image Strategy, including the $400,000 Free to BE body esteem resources, developed by the Butterfly Foundation.

Mission Australia's annual Youth Survey - the largest of its kind in Australia - has been undertaken each year since 2002. Each year the survey asks young Australians aged 11 to 24 what they value, where they turn for advice and support, what issues concern them, how they are involved with their community and their feelings about their future.

The resulting reports generated from the survey are now keenly anticipated by government, community organisations, schools and the media.

The survey closed in most states on 1 July, although young people in the Northern Territory can still have their say until 29 July. The key findings from the survey will be published in November.

To find our more about our National Survey of Young Australians and read past results:  www.missionaustralia.com.au/daily-news/3302-time-is-running-out-to-have-your-say

National Survey of Young Australians 2010 – what they’re saying

Mission Australia’s annual national survey, which tested the views of more than 50,000 young people, has once again sparked discussion.

One of the results from this year’s survey is the level to which young Victorians are concerned about crime, safety and violence above their interstate peers.

Thirty-two per cent of young Victorian respondents see crime, safety and violence as one of our country’s biggest issues, compared to 21 per cent nationally.

Mission Australia’s State Director - Victoria, Paul Bird, explored these findings in an opinion piece for The Punch. You can read his piece, 'Fear of violence is killing Victorian culture', here.

Mia Freedman was alarmed that body image continues to be a major concern for young Australians. “Never before have young people been so bombarded by fake images of digitally altered ‘perfection’. Is it any wonder they look in the mirror and feel bad about themselves?” she wrote on her Mama Mia blog, click here to read on.

ABC TV news last night also focused on body image, and that youth are reporting to be under increased stress levels since previous surveys, click here to view the full story.

Mission Australia releases new report: the ninth annual ‘National Survey of Young Australians’

The ‘National Survey of Young Australians 2010: key and emerging themes’ is the ninth consecutive annual youth survey report released by our Research and Social Policy team.

Download or view the full report from this link

The survey is the largest of its kind in Australia and in 2010 received over 50,000 responses from young people across the country. Respondents came from diverse communities across each state and territory.

The survey asks young Australians aged 11 to 24 about what they value, their issues of personal concern, where they turn for advice and support and their community involvement. Two new questions were included this year, regarding the most important issues facing Australia today and feelings about the future.

As in previous years, there was a great deal of consistency around what young people value and where they go for advice and support, in each case namely their family and friends.

A more complex picture has emerged from the data around young people’s issues of concern. Nationally, body image, family conflict and coping with stress were the top three issues for respondents, with over a quarter identifying each as being a major concern. However, a number of issues were of concern to a substantial proportion of respondents and in 2010 there was no one ‘standout’ issue.

The unprompted responses to the question regarding what young people thought were the most important issues facing Australia today were a little clearer, with the environment and alcohol and drugs being the top two concerns across all ages, both genders, indigenous participants, and across all States and Territories.

An encouraging finding from the youth survey was the responses to one of our new questions, feelings about the future, with approximately two thirds of young people feeling either very positive or positive about the future.

The survey report contains summaries at the national level as well as for each state and territory. There is also a chapter that compares responses from Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal respondents. Each of the chapters contains a breakdown of the key data by age and gender.

For further information, or to order copies of the report (free of charge), please contact Aimee Tyson on (02) 9219 2022 or tysona@missionaustralia.com.au.

Media Release: Body image and environment of greatest concern to young Australians

Body image is the leading personal concern for young Australians while close to one-in-two list the environment as the most important issue facing the nation according to the country's largest annual survey of young people.

The survey also shows that young Australians are wrestling with stress and school/study worries at far greater levels than in recent years.

Download or view the full report from this link

The national survey, conducted by Mission Australia, tested the views of more than 50,000 young people - its biggest group since the survey began in 2002 - between the ages of 11-24 (98 per cent aged 11-19). In addition to their concerns it surveys what young people value, who they turn to for advice, what activities they engage in and how they feel about the future.

When asked to rank their personal concerns from 15 issues body image was ranked most frequently in the top three by 31.1 per cent of respondents, followed by family conflict at 27.8 per cent and coping with stress at 27.3 per cent.

Body image was the leading issue of concern for 11-14 and 15-19 year olds and for females. Almost one-in-two 20-24 year olds considered it a major concern. For young males, body image was the second highest concern behind alcohol - 27.4 per cent to 28.5 per cent.

Coping with stress (18.7 per cent in 2009 - 27.3 per cent in 2010) and school or study problems (17.3 per cent in 2009 - 25.5 per cent in 2010) experienced the greatest increases in concern from last year's survey.

For the first time the survey asked young people for their unprompted views on the most important issues facing Australia.

Heading the responses was environment with 45.7 per cent ranking it as a 'top three' issue followed by alcohol and drugs (37.1 per cent) and crime, safety and violence (21.0 per cent). Environment was the major issue for all age groups and for both males and females.

Mission Australia's spokesperson, Anne Hampshire, said concern about body image was evenly split between young people worried about their personal appearance and the unrealistic portrayal of 'the perfect body' in the media and elsewhere.

"What came through strongly in responses was that young people are worried both about their personal body image and about how the media continues to promote a level of physical perfection that is neither healthy nor achievable. It places an enormous amount of pressure on young people," said Ms Hampshire.

"I think it tells us that despite the fact that governments, welfare groups and youth agencies have moved to tackle the issue of poor body image in recent years, there's still a lot of work to do - particularly among young adults where we saw the biggest jump in concern.

"In terms of young people nominating the environment as the most important issue facing the country it's clear from their responses they believe urgent action is required on a number of fronts.

"Young people are particularly keen for government leadership as well as a broad community response to the issue. They want Australians of all ages - including themselves - and backgrounds to take personal responsibility for their behaviour and lifestyle and how they impact on the environment.

"What's important to note with this question is that we gave respondents a clean slate.

"We didn't ask them to rank the issues - as we do with personal concerns - and that speaks volumes for the fact that almost one-in-two respondents identified the environment as the main issue facing Australia."

Ms Hampshire said increased concerns about coping with stress and school/study problems reflected the importance of equipping young people with the ability to deal with life pressures.

"We often forget the range of competing demands and pressures juggled by young people - relationships, education, employment, the expectations of parents, peers, schools, the wider community as well as themselves," said Ms Hampshire.

"This can be a very stressful time and our results bear that out. Many young people indicated they wanted to be able to manage their stress better, noting the potential negative consequences of not doing so, including a range of mental health issues.

"We need to better equip young people, including in early adolescence, with the practical strategies to help them deal with stress. The level of concern picked up in our survey suggests the merit in a broader discussion about the nature and sources of stress among young people and how we can alleviate it."

Ms Hampshire said participants clearly distinguished between matters of personal importance and those they considered national issues.

"For example, while body image was the leading personal concern, only 2.2 per cent of respondents featured it as an important issue facing Australia.

"At the same time participants saw alcohol and drugs both as significant personal concerns and as leading issues facing the nation.

"That's because, as a personal concern, they are worried about the impact of drugs and alcohol on family and friends and not having the skills to deal with the issue.

"In terms of national importance they see the impact alcohol and drugs have on the broader community. That's partly why crime, safety and violence was also a major issue of national importance - respondents often linking these issues to alcohol which we believe increases the urgency for action in this area."

One of the significant results in the 2010 survey was a reversal in the decline in the number of young people involved in extra-curricular activities.

"The number of young people involved in an arts or cultural activity - such as drama, music or dance -almost halved between the 2008 and 2009 surveys. In fact, across every single activity we surveyed participation in extra-curricular pursuits decreased in 2009.

"We put this down to how, when the global financial crisis hit, some families and young people opted to spend less on things such as dance or piano lessons or tickets to the football.

"This year, activity results have bounced back to 2008 levels and above which I think reflects some confidence in the strength of the local economy."

Ms Hampshire said despite the fact young people were shouldering a diverse range of serious concerns - often from a tender age - the survey had detected a significant level of optimism in the future.

"For the first time this year we asked participants to tell us how they felt about the future. The answer was resoundingly optimistic. Two-thirds were positive about the future while only around 9 per cent were negative. The remaining 27 per cent were neither.

"Young Australians are also incredibly grounded. When asked what they value, financial security lags way behind family and friends - that's very encouraging," said Ms Hampshire.

Download or view the full report from this link

Media contacts:

• Paul Andrews (02) 9219 2080 or 0409 665 495
• Patrick Flynn (02) 9641 5031 or 0407 411 256

Media Release: Survey reveals stark difference in outlook between homeless and non-homeless youth

Homeless young Australians are significantly more concerned about body image, alcohol and bullying than their contemporaries in stable accommodation according to national community service organisation Mission Australia.

The results, compiled from data from Mission Australia’s 2009 National Survey of Young Australians, also found that young homeless people were far less concerned about drugs and personal safety – leading issues of concern for the majority of young people.

To download a copy of the latest report please click here

When asked to rank their concerns about 15 issues, body image was ranked most frequently in the top three by 37.5 per cent of young homeless respondents. In comparison, 25.0 per cent of young people living in stable accommodation ranked body image as a major issue.

The second highest issue of concern to young homeless people was alcohol – with 37.3 per cent of respondents indicating it was a major issue – compared to 22.4 per cent for those in secure housing.

Bullying/emotional abuse was ranked as a major concern by close to one-in-three homeless young people compared to one-in-four of those in stable accommodation.

The main worry for young people in secure housing was drugs with 26.9 per cent compared to only 17.4 per cent for homeless young people.

Similarly, personal safety was viewed as a pressing concern by close to one-in-four non-homeless young people with only one-in-ten homeless youth considering it as such.

Mission Australia’s spokesperson, Anne Hampshire, said the results exposed the differences between young people influenced by their access to secure accommodation.

“We tend to think of young people as an homogenous group but they’re incredibly diverse. And when a young person has experienced homelessness it can have a dramatic impact on their concerns, the things they value and the people or places they turn to for help, particularly compared to those not in that situation,” said Ms Hampshire.

Other differences between homeless and non-homeless respondents identified in the survey include:

• Young homeless people ranked feeling needed and valued (39.1 per cent) as of higher importance compared to non-homeless youth (25.8 per cent). Conversely, young homeless people placed a far greater emphasis on being independent (55.9 per cent) compared to their contemporaries (32.3 per cent).
• While both groups of young people valued family relationships (homeless 66.9% / non-homeless 76.1 per cent) young people in stable housing placed a greater emphasis on friendships (other than family) at 61.4 per cent compared to only 42.6 per cent among homeless youth.
• Homeless youth place a far greater importance on non-family members as a source of advice than those in secure accommodation. Close to one-in-two homeless young people go to community agencies for primary support compared to one-in-ten non-homeless youth. 

Similarly around one-in-two homeless young people use the Internet as a major source of help compared to one-in-five in stable housing. In addition, 30% of homeless young people don’t have access to enough information when they have a personal problem.

The national survey, conducted annually by Mission Australia, tested the views of close to 48,000 young people between the ages of 11-24 (97.9 per cent aged 11-19). Among those who took part, 386 were homeless or in insecure housing; 225 were in out-of-home/foster care; and 460 were living in a juvenile justice centre or prison.

As to why such stark differences existed between homeless and non-homeless young people on issues such as body image, alcohol and drugs, Ms Hampshire said a number of reasons could be responsible.

“Young homeless people are no different to other young adolescents – how they look, their appearance and presentation is important to them. However, their concerns are likely to be magnified if they don’t have access to the resources to buy new clothes or are possibly reliant on donated goods. It’s hard to look after your appearance if you’re couch-surfing and don’t have a safe and secure place to stay.

“Poor body image is also tied up poor self-esteem and an overall lack of well-being. The high concern about alcohol among young homeless respondents – particularly when compared to those in secure housing – could relate to their experience of alcohol misuse in their family or their own usage of alcohol as research has shown there’s an increased likelihood of homeless young people having high levels of alcohol consumption.”

“A lower level of concern about drugs among this group – when it is the chief issue for young people in stable accommodation – might suggest a greater familiarity with drugs and if that’s the case it requires us to put more efforts into drug education and health campaigns for this particular group,” said Ms Hampshire.

According to Ms Hampshire the results also reveal the importance of personal connections in keeping a young person out of homelessness or helping them back on their feet.

“Developing and sustaining connections with family and friends is a key foundation for a young person’s wellbeing. We also know that family conflict is the most common reason for homeless young people leaving home.

“Personal connections are a cornerstone in helping a young homeless person back on their feet – that’s why programs which intervene early to help young homeless people re-build these sorts of relationships are so important,” said Ms Hampshire.

National Homeless Persons’ Week (2-8 August) is also the time for Mission Australia’s Winter Sleepout.

Winter Sleepout encourages Australians to show their support for homeless people by spending a night away from their beds and raising funds for Mission Australia’s homeless services.

Simply get together with your family, friends, colleagues, social teams, schools and clubs and ‘sleepout’ and seek sponsorship for your efforts.

For more information visit www.wintersleepout.com.au

Media contact: Patrick Flynn (02) 9641 5031 or 0407 411 256

Mission Australia releases new report: 'Insights into the concerns of young Australians'

'Insights into the concerns of young Australians: Making sense of the numbers' is a new report released today by Mission Australia's Research & Social Policy unit.

In 2009 Mission Australia conducted its eighth annual National Survey of Young Australians, the largest of it's kind in Australia.

The survey asked young people aged 11 to 24 years about what they value, their concerns, where they go for advice and support and who they admire.

The new report sheds light on what the 48,000 young Australians surveyed are most concerned about.  To provide a snapshot, these issues were provided by respondents as their greatest concern:

• Drugs (26.8% of respondents)
• Suicide (26.3%)
• Body image (25.5%)
• Family conflict (24.1%)
• Bullying/emotional abuse (23.4%)
• Alcohol (23.0%)
• Physical/sexual abuse (22.7%)
• Personal safety (22.2%)
• Coping with stress (18.7%)
• Depression (18.7%)
• School or study problems (17.3%)
• The environment (16.7%)
• Self harm (13.3%)
• Discrimination (11.7%)
• Sexuality - relationships, health, identity (11.4%)

The new report helps to 'make sense of the numbers' and delves into analysis of these key concerns.

Click here to view the report online or download a PDF version from this link

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The 2010 National Survey of Young Australians has almost come to a close.  Northern Territorians are still able to have their say until the 30th July - Click here to participate in the 2010 survey

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The spectre of drugs looms large with teens

But young people are well balanced and have a diverse range of views, writes CEO Toby Hall.

How well do you know your children?

How often do you try to talk to the teenager in your house about some of the big issues - drugs, body image, suicide - and receive a roll of the eyes and a quick brush-off?

Mission Australia began conducting a national survey of young people eight years ago to help bridge the gulf that can exist between parents and their adolescent kids around these concerns.

It's now developed into the country's biggest annual poll of young Australians providing a unique snapshot of their mindset - their concerns, who they turn to for advice, what they value and who they admire-on a massive scale.

Close to 48,000 young people, aged between 11 and 24, took part in this year's survey, including 2300 indigenous respondents, 6800 who spoke a language other than English at home and more than 1000 who were either in custody, homeless or in foster care.

It was an extraordinary crosssection. This year's results show that while young Australians are facing a range of serious issues, when it comes to their priorities and values they are also incredibly well-balanced and have a diverse range ofviews.

But, as it does every year, our survey uncovered information that should make us, as parents and as a community, sit up and take notice.

When asked to rank their concern about 15 issues, drugs were ranked most frequently in the top three by 26.8 per cent of respondents, closely followed by suicide at 26.3 per cent and body image at 25.5 per cent. Drugs were also the primary concern for 11-to 14-year-olds, with 31 per cent including it in their top three - almost twice the proportion of 20- to 24-year-olds.

So what do the results mean? First, our survey suggests that 11- to 14-year-olds don't feel equipped to deal with the issue of drugs. They not only have a significant level of personal concern about the issue, they are worried about the impact of drugs on friends, families and their community.

Let's be clear-this concern doesn't equate to drug use- only around 5 per cent of 11- to 14-yearolds use drugs.

But what it does show is that while campaigns have raised anxiety among our teens about the dangers of drugs, they haven't done enough to educate young teens on how to handle peer pressure about the issue.

Drug-education campaigns need to be changed so they strengthen young people and give them the skills to respond appropriately if drugs enter their lives or the lives of friends and family.

In terms of body image, the issue is less a personal concern and more a worry related to the unrealistic portrayal of "the perfect body" in themedia and elsewhere. But the action taken by governments, welfare groups and youth agencies to address negative body image over the past few years appears to be having an impact.

In 2007, more than 32 per cent of participants had body image top of mind compared to 25.5 this year- so concern is on the decline.

As for suicide, it's not surprising to see young people so highly concerned. Many Australian families, schools and communities have been touched in some way by suicide. It has a deep impact on young people. But we need to be clear that this is not about young people themselves considering self-harm, it's an expression of concern for friends and family who may be going through tough times.

Because we know young people go to their friends, parents and other family members first when under pressure, the key is to make sure we invest in support that assist these groups so they have the skills to help young people.

This includes peer-to-peer education and programs targeted at family members. One of the significant results this year has been the decline in the number of young people involved in extra-curricular activities. The number of young people involved in an arts or cultural activity -such as drama, music or dance - has almost halved since the 2008 survey, from 44 per cent down to 23.4. In fact, across every single activity we surveyed, participation was down.

What these figures suggest is that when the global financial crisis hit some families and young people opted to spend less on things such as dance or piano lessons or tickets to the football.

The final take-out of this year's survey is that, overall, young Australians are well-placed to tackle the issues affecting their transition from youth to adulthood. But parents and the broader community, need to be aware of the problems facing our kids - and their deeper implications - so we can make their passage easier.

Toby Hall is chief executive officer of Mission Australia.

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To view all Youth Survey reports for 2009 please visit our website:  www.missionaustralia.com.au/
youthsurvey


For previous year's reports please click here:
www.missionaustralia.com.au/document-downloads/cat_view/67-national-survey-of-young-australians-2005-2008

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Drugs, suicide and body image - the issues of most concern to young Australians

Australia’s largest annual survey of young people has found that drugs, suicide and body image are the biggest worries for 11-24 year olds with one-in-four regarding each as major concerns.

The survey has also uncovered many 11-14 year olds feel unequipped to deal with the issue of drugs...

The national survey, conducted by Mission Australia, tested the views of close to 48,000 young people – its biggest group since the survey began in 2002 – between the ages of 11-24 (97.9 per cent aged 11-19).

When asked to rank their concern about 15 issues drugs was ranked most frequently in the top three by 26.8 per cent of respondents, closely followed by suicide at 26.3 per cent and body image at 25.5 per cent.

However, the concerns of respondents in this year’s poll were very evenly spread with eight of the 15 isssues surveyed considered a priority to at least one in five respondents.

The survey also detected decreases across all activities involving young people – particularly arts/cultural activities, and to a lesser extent, spectator sports and youth groups – which the charity suggests is an impact of the global financial crisis on Australian families over the past 12 months.

Mission Australia’s spokesperson, Anne Hampshire, said this year’s survey detected important differences between age groups and gender on some concerns.

Drugs was the primary concern for 11-14 year olds with 31 per cent including it in their top three – almost twice the proportion of 20-24 year olds.

For 15-19 year olds, body image was the major issue at 27.4 per cent, while for 20-24 year olds depression (30.5) and coping with stress (30.2) were at the top of the list.

For girls and young women, physical/sexual abuse topped the list of concerns with 27.5 per cent considering it a top three issue – compared to only 17 per cent of boys. Conversely, alcohol was the second biggest worry for young males at 27.6 per cent while only 19 per cent of girls considered it the same.

“Our survey suggests that 11-14 year old Australians don’t feel equipped to deal with the issue of drugs,” said Ms Hampshire.

“They not only have a significant level of personal concern about the issue but are also worried about the impact of drugs on friends, families and their community.

“This concern doesn’t equate to drug usage – only around 5 per cent of 11-14 year olds use drugs.

“What it does show is that while campaigns have raised anxiety among our teens about the dangers of drugs, they haven’t done enough to educate 11-14 year olds on how to handle peer pressure about the issue.

“There’s plenty of information about drugs out there, but information isn’t enough for a 12 year old. Drug education campaigns need to strengthen young people and give them the skills to respond appropriately if drugs enter their lives or the lives of friends and family.”

In terms of body image, Mission Australia’s survey has noticed the issue is less a personal concern and more a worry related to the unrealistic portrayal of ‘the perfect body’ in the media and elsewhere.

“Over the last few years we’ve seen governments, welfare groups and youth agencies tackle the issue of body image in a much more concerted fashion and from this year’s survey results we think it’s beginning to have an impact,” said Ms Hampshire.

“In 2007, just over 32 per cent of participants had body image top of mind compared to 25.5 this year.

To view the 2009 reports please visit our document downloads section: www.missionaustralia.com.au/youthsurvey