YOUNG TASMANIANS MORE WORRIED ABOUT STRESS AND SCHOOL THAN EVER BEFORE: NATIONAL YOUTH SURVEY
Young Tasmanians are more worried about school, study and coping with stress than ever before according to the country’s largest annual survey of young people.
Despite recent efforts by governments and others to promote positive body image, young Tasmanian women registered their highest level of concern around the issue since it was added to the survey in 2006.
Mission Australia’s 10th National Survey of Young Australians tested the views of more than 1,200 young Tasmanians between the ages of 11-19. In addition to their concerns it surveyed what young people value, who they turn to for advice, what activities they engage in, concerns for the country and how they feel about the future.
When asked to rank their personal concerns from 15 issues coping with stress and body image were ranked equally the most frequently in the top three by 33.7 per cent of Tasmanian respondents, followed by school/study problems at 32.1 per cent. Anxiety around school/study problems and coping with stress jumped significantly from recent surveys.
Concern around both coping with stress and school/study problems has increased among young Tasmanians by more than 15 per cent since the 2009 survey.
The increase in concern has been greatest among 15-19 year old Tasmanians. In 2010, 28.5 per cent ranked school/study problems as a big issue, this year it is 37.1 per cent. Last year, 33.2 per cent in this age group considered coping with stress a top three issue, this year that figure jumped to 42.7 per cent.
One of the most notable results from the 2011 survey has been the growth in concern about body image among young Tasmanian women.
In 2009, body image was ranked as a top three issue by 27.6 per cent of young Tasmanian women. In 2010, 36.7 per cent considered it a top three concern. But in the 2011 survey, 42.0 per cent of young Tasmanian women ranked it as a major concern – a growth of more than 14 per cent in two years.
And in a new question, when asked whether or not they knew where to go for support about their chief concern, one quarter of young Tasmanians said they had nowhere to go.
Mission Australia’s Tasmanian State Director, Noel Mundy, said uncertain economic times, high youth unemployment and a constant pressure to perform scholastically were all potential factors in increasing concern around stress and school/study.
“We often overlook the large number of demands young Tasmanians face these days: everything from personal relationships to the expectations of parents, peers, schools, the wider community and young people themselves,” said Mr Mundy.
“When compounded by gloomy economic forecasts, high youth unemployment and escalating pressures to perform in school it’s no wonder we’ve seen such a large increase in worry about stress and school. For young Tasmanians, the stakes have never been higher.
“As for the rise and rise in concern about body image among young Tasmanian women, I think that tells us that well-meaning efforts to combat the problem by governments and others have failed to make an impact and need to be reconsidered.
“Despite young Tasmanians being more ‘media literate’ than ever before, unrealistic and unachievable images of physical perfection seem to be causing concern among young women at levels we’ve not seen before in previous surveys.
“It’s worth noting that young people are not just worried about their personal body image but also how the media continues to promote an unhealthy concept of beauty. It places an enormous amount of pressure on them.
“One of the most worrying developments in this year’s survey has been that one-in-four Tasmanian participants don’t feel they have anywhere – or anyone – to go to about their main concern.
“I think that’s a sign to parents, schools, community organisations, governments – anyone that plays a role supporting adolescents – that we need to lift our game in communicating to young people the avenues available to them for help and information.”
For the second time, the survey asked young Tasmanians for their views on the most important issues facing Australia.
As in 2010, leading the responses was environment with 41.6 per cent ranking it as a ‘top three’ national issue followed by alcohol and drugs (33.6 per cent) and population issues (18.9 per cent).
Close to one-in-two 11-14 year old Tasmanians ranked environment as their leading concern for the country.
“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,” said Mr Mundy.
“What’s particularly interesting is that despite the vigorous debate around Australia’s proposed carbon tax over the last 12 months – with many contributors voicing doubt about global warming – young people’s concern around the environment has remained relatively constant since last year’s survey.”
Despite the survey showing that young Tasmanians are shouldering a diverse range of serious concerns – often from a tender age – it also detected a significant level of optimism in the future.
Just over 57 per cent were positive about the future while around 11 per cent were negative.
The remaining 32 per cent were neither.
“When we asked participants to tell us how they felt about the future. The answer was resoundingly optimistic.
“Young Tasmanians are also incredibly grounded. When asked what they value, financial security lags way behind family and friends – that’s very encouraging,” said Mr Mundy.
