Gumleaf
November 26th, 2008, 07:30 AM
Tuesday, 25 November 2008 16:35
Australia’s largest annual survey of young people has found that body image, drugs and family conflict are the biggest worries for 11-24 year olds with one-in-four regarding each as major concerns – but it’s drugs that are increasingly weighing on their minds.
The national survey, conducted by the charity Mission Australia, tested the views of more than 45,000 young people – its biggest group since the survey began in 2001 – between the ages of 11-24 (97.7 per cent between 11-19). When asked to rank their concern about 15 issues, body image was ranked most frequently in the top three by 26.3 per cent of respondents (body image was also the top ranked concern in 2007’s survey), closely followed by drugs at 26 per cent and family conflict at 25.9 per cent.
However, concern about drugs – which was not a top three issue in 2007 – has risen from one-in-five respondents last year to one-in-four in 2008.
The increase in concern about drugs was most notable among the 11-14 age group who were twice as likely as 20-24 year olds to identify it as a major issue.
In 2007’s survey, 22.9 per cent of 11-14 year old respondents listed drugs as one of their top three concerns. In 2008, 31.2 per cent of this age group regard drugs as a major issue – a significant increase.
In comparison, 16.6 per cent of 20-24 year olds view drugs as a key problem.
According to Mission Australia’s spokesperson, Anne Hampshire, the results suggest that early adolescence is the key time when young people are most likely to be open to drug education campaigns.
“The concerns 11-14 year olds have about drugs are varied. They worry about friends and family taking drugs, whether they’ll be able to resist peer pressure to experiment and most of all the damage drugs do.
“At the same time, our survey results show that for young people in their late teens or early 20s there is a relative decline in their concern about drugs.
“If this tells us anything it’s that our drug education campaigns really need to be targeted at 11-14 year olds. That’s when the issue is most likely to be worrying young people, providing us with the best opportunity to equip them with the strategies they need to deal with the issue.
“We’ve got to be able to turn their concern about drugs into them feeling confident and skilled enough that they can effectively handle this major social issue,” said Ms Hampshire.
This year’s survey uncovered a range of other important issues.
“Included in the survey for the first time, personal safety was rated as a major concern by almost a quarter of young people (22.9 per cent) and came in fifth on the list above bullying/emotional abuse (22.6 per cent) and physical/sexual abuse (22.6 per cent). These issues concerned all three age groups.
“Far from the media’s portrayal of young people as highly materialistic, when asked what they value, financial security lags way behind family and friends.
“And young males are twice as likely as young females to highly value getting a job.
“Overall, the results over the past seven years show that young Australians are very consistent in what they value and place enormous importance on family and friends. There’s also a remarkable convergence in young peoples’ responses between metro and rural areas, something which could be down to the influence of the internet and other mass media.”
Ms Hampshire said the concerns of respondents in this year’s survey are more evenly spread.
“In last year’s survey, body image was the stand out concern for young people. This year, while it’s at the top of the list, there’s very little to separate it from many of the other issues.
“This clustering confirms young Australians are incredibly diverse and are concerned about a range of different issues. There differences continue across age groups and gender.”
Mission Australia’s seventh national youth survey was conducted online and through schools, colleges and youth services with the help of government agencies and community and corporate partners. The questions included: What do you value?, What issues are of concern?, Where do you turn for advice/support? and What people/organisations do you most admire?.
Of the survey’s respondents, around 2,500 identified as Indigenous (5.7 per cent); 6,800 spoke a language other than English at home (14.8 per cent); and 375 indicated they were either homeless or living in insecure housing.
Ms Hampshire said that while the survey indicated Indigenous and non-Indigenous young Australians shared many similarities, it also uncovered some stark differences.
“For example, alcohol was the second highest issue of concern for Indigenous respondents at 31.2 per cent compared to 20.1 per cent of their non-Indigenous counterparts. And turning popular stereotypes on their head, young Indigenous people place a higher value on getting a job (24.4 per cent) over their non-Indigenous peers (16.3 per cent).
“What is encouraging from the survey is that respondents are likely to turn to friends and family for help, and close to 84 per cent felt they have adequate information on issues that concern them. To be most effective, our education and information strategies on issues such as drugs have to involve young people themselves, as well as their friends and family in their design and delivery.
“It’s also clear from the survey that many young people are active and engaged in their communities through their participation in sports, arts and cultural activities and volunteering. Close to 40 per cent of young adult respondents were volunteering.
“Mission Australia’s National Survey of Young Australians gives young people a voice about a range of issues which are important to them. It helps promote discussion among parents and their children – and among young people themselves – about the things that concern them.
“It also helps governments, educators and social policymakers produce information and develop services and programs for young people that are pertinent to their needs.
“Close to 100 high schools organised their students to participate in this year’s survey and will receive a report based on their own school’s results. These reports provide schools with localised student data and enable them to better target strategies and support,” Ms Hampshire said.
Other key results of the 2008 survey:
• 75.3 per cent of respondents ranked family relationships in their top three things most valued. This was followed by friendships at 62.3 per cent and physical/mental health at 31.8 per cent.
• Friends were a major source of advice for 85.1 per cent of respondents while 74.1 per cent identified parents as a key support.
• Family members were most commonly listed by participants as someone they admired at 30.2 per cent. Next most popular was friends (17.7 per cent), sports teams and players (6.7 per cent) and entertainers (6.2 per cent).
Australia’s largest annual survey of young people has found that body image, drugs and family conflict are the biggest worries for 11-24 year olds with one-in-four regarding each as major concerns – but it’s drugs that are increasingly weighing on their minds.
The national survey, conducted by the charity Mission Australia, tested the views of more than 45,000 young people – its biggest group since the survey began in 2001 – between the ages of 11-24 (97.7 per cent between 11-19). When asked to rank their concern about 15 issues, body image was ranked most frequently in the top three by 26.3 per cent of respondents (body image was also the top ranked concern in 2007’s survey), closely followed by drugs at 26 per cent and family conflict at 25.9 per cent.
However, concern about drugs – which was not a top three issue in 2007 – has risen from one-in-five respondents last year to one-in-four in 2008.
The increase in concern about drugs was most notable among the 11-14 age group who were twice as likely as 20-24 year olds to identify it as a major issue.
In 2007’s survey, 22.9 per cent of 11-14 year old respondents listed drugs as one of their top three concerns. In 2008, 31.2 per cent of this age group regard drugs as a major issue – a significant increase.
In comparison, 16.6 per cent of 20-24 year olds view drugs as a key problem.
According to Mission Australia’s spokesperson, Anne Hampshire, the results suggest that early adolescence is the key time when young people are most likely to be open to drug education campaigns.
“The concerns 11-14 year olds have about drugs are varied. They worry about friends and family taking drugs, whether they’ll be able to resist peer pressure to experiment and most of all the damage drugs do.
“At the same time, our survey results show that for young people in their late teens or early 20s there is a relative decline in their concern about drugs.
“If this tells us anything it’s that our drug education campaigns really need to be targeted at 11-14 year olds. That’s when the issue is most likely to be worrying young people, providing us with the best opportunity to equip them with the strategies they need to deal with the issue.
“We’ve got to be able to turn their concern about drugs into them feeling confident and skilled enough that they can effectively handle this major social issue,” said Ms Hampshire.
This year’s survey uncovered a range of other important issues.
“Included in the survey for the first time, personal safety was rated as a major concern by almost a quarter of young people (22.9 per cent) and came in fifth on the list above bullying/emotional abuse (22.6 per cent) and physical/sexual abuse (22.6 per cent). These issues concerned all three age groups.
“Far from the media’s portrayal of young people as highly materialistic, when asked what they value, financial security lags way behind family and friends.
“And young males are twice as likely as young females to highly value getting a job.
“Overall, the results over the past seven years show that young Australians are very consistent in what they value and place enormous importance on family and friends. There’s also a remarkable convergence in young peoples’ responses between metro and rural areas, something which could be down to the influence of the internet and other mass media.”
Ms Hampshire said the concerns of respondents in this year’s survey are more evenly spread.
“In last year’s survey, body image was the stand out concern for young people. This year, while it’s at the top of the list, there’s very little to separate it from many of the other issues.
“This clustering confirms young Australians are incredibly diverse and are concerned about a range of different issues. There differences continue across age groups and gender.”
Mission Australia’s seventh national youth survey was conducted online and through schools, colleges and youth services with the help of government agencies and community and corporate partners. The questions included: What do you value?, What issues are of concern?, Where do you turn for advice/support? and What people/organisations do you most admire?.
Of the survey’s respondents, around 2,500 identified as Indigenous (5.7 per cent); 6,800 spoke a language other than English at home (14.8 per cent); and 375 indicated they were either homeless or living in insecure housing.
Ms Hampshire said that while the survey indicated Indigenous and non-Indigenous young Australians shared many similarities, it also uncovered some stark differences.
“For example, alcohol was the second highest issue of concern for Indigenous respondents at 31.2 per cent compared to 20.1 per cent of their non-Indigenous counterparts. And turning popular stereotypes on their head, young Indigenous people place a higher value on getting a job (24.4 per cent) over their non-Indigenous peers (16.3 per cent).
“What is encouraging from the survey is that respondents are likely to turn to friends and family for help, and close to 84 per cent felt they have adequate information on issues that concern them. To be most effective, our education and information strategies on issues such as drugs have to involve young people themselves, as well as their friends and family in their design and delivery.
“It’s also clear from the survey that many young people are active and engaged in their communities through their participation in sports, arts and cultural activities and volunteering. Close to 40 per cent of young adult respondents were volunteering.
“Mission Australia’s National Survey of Young Australians gives young people a voice about a range of issues which are important to them. It helps promote discussion among parents and their children – and among young people themselves – about the things that concern them.
“It also helps governments, educators and social policymakers produce information and develop services and programs for young people that are pertinent to their needs.
“Close to 100 high schools organised their students to participate in this year’s survey and will receive a report based on their own school’s results. These reports provide schools with localised student data and enable them to better target strategies and support,” Ms Hampshire said.
Other key results of the 2008 survey:
• 75.3 per cent of respondents ranked family relationships in their top three things most valued. This was followed by friendships at 62.3 per cent and physical/mental health at 31.8 per cent.
• Friends were a major source of advice for 85.1 per cent of respondents while 74.1 per cent identified parents as a key support.
• Family members were most commonly listed by participants as someone they admired at 30.2 per cent. Next most popular was friends (17.7 per cent), sports teams and players (6.7 per cent) and entertainers (6.2 per cent).