Self-Reported Concerns among Australian Secondary School Students: Associations with Mental Health and Wellbeing

IF 1.7 4区心理学 Q3 PSYCHOLOGY, DEVELOPMENTAL

Child & Youth Care Forum Pub Date : 2024-04-16 DOI:10.1007/s10566-024-09804-w

Alexandra Bartholomew, Kate Maston, Lyndsay Brown, Hiroko Fujimoto, Michael Hodgins, Helen Christensen, Aliza Werner-Seidler

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Abstract

Background

Excessive worry during adolescence can significantly impact mental health. Understanding adolescent concerns may help inform mental health early intervention strategies.

Objective

This study aimed to identify frequent concerns among Australian secondary school students, exploring individual and demographic differences. Whether adolescents’ most frequently reported concern was associated with mental health and wellbeing was also investigated.

Methods

A total of N = 4086 adolescents (Mage = 13.92) participated in an online survey, reporting their top concerns alongside demographic characteristics, mental health, and wellbeing. Data were analysed using both qualitative and quantitative approaches.

Results

Thematic analysis identified 11 different themes of adolescent concerns. A frequency analysis showed concerns relating to ‘School and Academics’ were most common (24.52% of all responses), consistent across females, males, school location (regional vs metropolitan areas), and socioeconomic background. Sexuality and gender diverse adolescents more frequently reported concerns about ‘Mental Health and Wellbeing’ and ‘Social Relationships’. Linear mixed models found ‘School and Academic’ concerns were associated with lower symptoms of depression (p < .001, d = 0.16) and anxiety (p < .001, d = 0.19) and higher wellbeing (p = .03, d = 0.07) compared to all other concerns.

Conclusion

‘School and Academic’ concerns were most common, however not associated with poorer mental health or wellbeing. Sexuality and gender diverse adolescents were more likely to report concerns regarding ‘Mental Health and Wellbeing’ and ‘Social Relationships’. Efforts aimed solely at reducing academic stress may not be the most effective approach to improving adolescent mental health. Longitudinal data into how concerns evolve over time could provide a nuanced understanding of their relationship with future mental health challenges.

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澳大利亚中学生的自述问题：与心理健康和幸福的关系

背景青春期过度忧虑会严重影响心理健康。了解青少年的担忧有助于为心理健康早期干预策略提供依据。本研究旨在确定澳大利亚中学生经常担忧的问题，探讨个体和人口统计学差异。方法共有4086名青少年（平均年龄为13.92岁）参与了在线调查，在报告他们最关心的问题的同时，还报告了人口统计学特征、心理健康和幸福感。采用定性和定量方法对数据进行了分析。结果专题分析确定了青少年关注的 11 个不同主题。频率分析表明，与 "学校和学业 "有关的问题最为常见（占所有回答的 24.52%），而且在女性、男性、学校所在地（地区与大都市）和社会经济背景方面都一致。性取向和性别不同的青少年更经常报告对 "心理健康与幸福 "和 "社会关系 "的担忧。线性混合模型发现，与所有其他问题相比，"学校和学业 "问题与较低的抑郁症状（p < .001，d = 0.16）和焦虑症状（p < .001，d = 0.19）以及较高的幸福感（p = .03，d = 0.07）有关。性取向和性别不同的青少年更倾向于报告与 "心理健康和幸福 "以及 "社会关系 "有关的问题。仅以减轻学业压力为目标的努力可能不是改善青少年心理健康的最有效方法。通过纵向数据了解关注点随着时间的推移是如何演变的，可以让我们对这些关注点与未来心理健康挑战之间的关系有一个细致的了解。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Child & Youth Care Forum PSYCHOLOGY, DEVELOPMENTAL-

CiteScore

3.60

自引率

5.60%

发文量

期刊介绍： Child & Youth Care Forum is a peer-reviewed, multidisciplinary publication that welcomes submissions – original empirical research papers and theoretical reviews as well as invited commentaries – on children, youth, and families. Contributions to Child & Youth Care Forum are submitted by researchers, practitioners, and clinicians across the interrelated disciplines of child psychology, early childhood, education, medical anthropology, pediatrics, pediatric psychology, psychiatry, public policy, school/educational psychology, social work, and sociology as well as government agencies and corporate and nonprofit organizations that seek to advance current knowledge and practice. Child & Youth Care Forum publishes scientifically rigorous, empirical papers and theoretical reviews that have implications for child and adolescent mental health, psychosocial development, assessment, interventions, and services broadly defined. For example, papers may address issues of child and adolescent typical and/or atypical development through effective youth care assessment and intervention practices. In addition, papers may address strategies for helping youth overcome difficulties (e.g., mental health problems) or overcome adversity (e.g., traumatic stress, community violence) as well as all children actualize their potential (e.g., positive psychology goals). Assessment papers that advance knowledge as well as methodological papers with implications for child and youth research and care are also encouraged.