Studies and statistics paint a picture that stress, depression and anxiety affect significant numbers of youth across the country and Whitehorse is no exception. The mental health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic will continue to emerge for many years to come. 

Facts and figures

Young people in inner east Melbourne have higher than average psychological distress yet access to mental health help is below average where needed.

The proportion of Victorian adults who experienced high or very high levels of psychological distress significantly increased from 18.1 per cent in 2019 to 23.4 per cent in 2020[i].  This was significantly higher in the younger age groups: 35.0 per cent of adults aged 18-24 years and 27.8 per cent of adults aged 25-34 years.  In Whitehorse, the percentage of adults who experienced high or very high levels of psychological distress was higher than the State average, at 24.1 per cent.

Gender differences are evident: in 2017 in Whitehorse, 20.6 per cent of people had experienced anxiety or depression and of these 23.6 per cent were female and 17.2 per cent were male[ii]. LGBT people are between 3.5 and 14 times more likely to attempt and die by suicide compared to heterosexual people[iii].

There is a significant gap between the prevalence of mental illness and the uptake of mental health services in every age group, with the majority of people not accessing professional help.

While we do not have equivalent figures for young people, in Whitehorse the percentage of females and males who sought professional help for a mental health problem over a 12 month period (2016-2017) was 11.2 per cent and 12.5 per cent respectively.

The Victorian Student Health and Wellbeing Survey (2018) administered by the Department of Training and Education found that, in comparison to the Victorian average, the Inner East Melbourne region (which Whitehorse is a part of) recorded a higher proportion of young people with the highest level of psychological distress, yet a lower a proportion of young people who access mental health services where needed.

Indicator	Inner East	Victoria
Proportion of young people with the highest level of psychological distress	22.4%	20.4%
Proportion of young people who access mental health services where needed	35.4%	37.8%

^{Indicators from the 2018 Victorian Student Health and Wellbeing Survey for Years 5, 8, 11}

Suicide is the leading cause of death among Australians aged 15-24 years. In 2020, deaths by suicide represented 31% of all deaths in young people aged 15-17 years and 39% of all deaths in those aged 18-24 years.

According to Kids Helpline, emergency interventions to protect young people in Victoria from suicide and child abuse increased by 184 per cent over the period December 1, 2020, to May 31, 2021.  Forty-four per cent of Victorian interventions were responding to a young person’s immediate intent to suicide, while child abuse emergencies triggered 31 per cent[iv].

There have been stark differences between the experiences of young people aged 18–35 years when compared to the Victorian population overall in relation to the pandemic, with young people amongst those in the community experiencing the most significant health and wellbeing impacts[v].