Mental Disorders and Suicide among Youth and Adolescents in Australia

Mental Disorders and Suicide among Youth and Adolescents in Australia 

This paper revolves around the study of Mental Disorders in Australian adolescents and youth. This topic is highly significant in terms of the present situation as mental health has become one of the most pressing issues not only in Australia but around the world as well. The study is focused on finding out the reasons behind occurrence of mental disorders, the correlation of mental disorders and suicide, and also the strategies through which mental disorders can be treated. The relevant questions were answered with the help of various data collected and using methods suggested.

The research findings revealed the solution to the problem of growing mental disorder in the youth and adolescents of Australia. The conducted research helped in successfully finding out an effective solution to combat this highly disastrous issue, and also listed that future research area, working on which more effective solutions can be obtained.

Keywords

Mental health disorder, mental illness, suicide, mental health disorder in youth and adolescents, suicide prevention programs, psychotherapy

Mental Disorders and Suicide among Youth and Adolescents in Australia 

The competition in every field is increasing today as the world has become more connected and hence, now appears very small and interconnected. More and more opportunities are available to the children in the present time. However, with opportunities, the pressure to perform well has increased as well, and this has ultimately resulted in increased stress among the children, adolescents and youth of today(Baiyewu& Bello, 2017).

With the advancements in technology as well as the growing competition, the public health issue problems are increasing as well. One of the most important but ignored problem that the whole world is facing today is mental health problem. An interesting but highly disturbing thing here to note is that the increased stress among the adolescents and youth has ultimately increased their symptoms of mental health disorder. The emergence of this problem while in the years of childhood definitely creates a massive impact on the individual during all the phases in their lives. And hence, this results in the degradation of the well-being of not only these children but also of the ones around them.

This is the reason behind popularity of health programs as these are organized with a purpose of identification of mental health problems in people and suggesting them the ways to rectify these problems(Calma et al., 2017). It is worth noting that in order for identifying these issues, an effective understanding of the mental health problem symptoms is necessary. In order for doing this, the conduction of the studies which is population-basedis done so that the real reasons and issues regarding the mental disorder can be found out. As a matter of fact, it is very important to note that the mental disorders affect children more and hence, it is very essential that these be rectified in a specific amount of time.

According to ("Mental health - Australian Institute of Health and Welfare", 2021), majority of Australian adolescents and youth are suffering from mental health disorders. This research report focuses on the mental health disorders in Australian Adolescents and youth, and the issues and challenges that are faced by the youth that leads to these health problems.

The mental health program implementation is very popular in Australia, and the National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing is responsible for conduction of these programs. The Australian Government understands the mental health importance and therefore, these programs are conducted regularly.

It is specifically important to address the issues pertaining to public health as these have become a concern for leaders and scientists all over the world due to the increased number of cases of mental disorders and suicides.

• The mental disorder has been a quite common problem in recent times, among the teenagers of Australia and one of the identified reasons is the increased anxiety and stress in the children as well as the increased pressure(Cheng et al., 2018).
• There are many issues that arise due to the occurrence of mental disorders in youth. The mental disorders according tohave been figured out to be the main cause of attempting suicide in the majority of cases in Australia. The occurrence of this issue is prevalent due to the fact that the relationship between mental disorder and suicide is quite heavy and hence, one leads to the other. Also, studies show that the children who are of a lower age have made suicide attempts in the present years more than ever.
• It has also been observed that the topmost death causes all around the world has increased in adolescents and the primary and major reason has been suicide which clearly is a result of mental health disorder. This is a very serious concern and must be taken care of appropriately.
• As per(Crowe et al., 2018),the Australian adolescents between the ages 14-17 has been seem to suffering from the symptoms of mental disorder majorly. There are also many other complications that are directly a part of the mental disorder happening, and this actually is very disheartening. Being a mental disorder rather than a physical one, this often goes unnoticed by the parents, teachers as well as guardians.
• Additionally, it has also been discovered that mental disorder has also become quite a common problem today among the teenagers between 12-17 years of age. One of the reasons that have been identified is the increasing stress and anxiety in children and increased pressure from all around. Hence, it has become very important today to work on identifying these factors as well as to rectify those(Davey &McGorry, 2019).
• According to the findings in (Ong et al., 2020) that showcased a cross-sectional survey on suicide attempts, it was revealed that 51% of adolescents and 44% of young adults had evidence of psychological trauma worldwide. This related directly with suicide attempts.

This paper is outlined some questions after effective investigation, study and analysis of the topic. These questions are important and relevant with respect to the mental disorder scenario in the Australian adolescents as well as youth and the research report is based on working on these research questions in order for identifying the answers to these -

1. What are the mental disorder reasons?
2. How does mental disorder lead to suicide attempts in youth?
3. What strategies can be used for the identification and treatment of these disorders?

Our goal is to analyze as well as identify the reasons behind the occurrence of mental disorder and how does it lead to suicide among the youth.  This provides a key pathway in addressing the knowledge gap as it was identified in Capstone A. Additionally; the report analysis will also help in devising the strategies related to identify as well as treat these mental disorders so that the increased rate of growing cases can be stopped in an effective time.

The following reasons that caused mental disorders in Australian youth and adolescents -

1. Childhood Trauma, Abuse or Neglect
2. Stigma or Discrimination
3. Social disadvantage such as Poverty or Debt
4. Loneliness or Social Isolation
5. Stress
6. Anxiety (Settipani et al., 2019)

Secondly, as per ("Mental health - Australian Institute of Health and Welfare", 2021), there is a very close connection between mental illness and suicide. This finding is also supported through the analysis of various literature that stated depression as the most contributing form of mental health illness that leads to suicidal thoughts and if not treated on time, the outcome can be highly disastrous. Other factors that are related to suicide are Bipolar disorder, Schizophrenia, Post-traumatic stress disorder. The findings revealed that the Australian youth and adolescents had symptoms of these mental illnesses in one form or the other. 

The usage of psychotherapy helps in minimizing mental illness to a huge extent, but in severe cases, psychotherapy is clubbed with Psychiatric medications for obtaining the best results by health practitioners. The suicide prevention program is implemented majorly by the Australian government for making the Australian youth aware on the topics of mental disorder and how can it be overcome (Spiker & Hammer, 2018).

Therefore, it is concluded that there are many issues that are raised due to the occurrence of the mental disorder in the youths, and hence, awareness on this topic is necessary. The most common issue is the suicide that has become a quite common as well as challenging for the youth recently.

The major findings are summarized as follows -

• The proper and effective occurrence of this issue is easily prevalent considering the fact that the relationship between the mental disorder and the suicide are considered quite heavy. It has also been identified that the main reasons for death are mainly caused all around the world and its tendency has been increased in adolescents.
• In short, from the literatures, it is found that the main reason behind the suicide is the mental health disorder within the people present in Australia. This issue needs to be taken care of properly. It is also found from the study that the adolescents of Australia suffer from the mental disorder symptoms.
• The research study helped to find out the main cause for attempting suicides in major cases in Australia. Along with that, the study shows the direction where the children having the lower age also made the suicide attempts in the present times.
• The study focused on the information related to the suicide prevention programs as the occurrence of the mental disorder is constantly increasing. Alongside, it also helped in finding the importance of these programs and psychotherapy, and how these can be implemented in successfully dealing with the issue. 

(Davey & McGorry, 2019) gave information in-depth regarding the causes behind the occurrence of mental disorders in Australian youth as well as adolescents. It also helped in understanding the relationship and connection between mental illness and suicide. Additionally, it mentioned some treatments and solutions for this issue as well. 

On the other hand, (Hill et al., 2021) focused on explaining about the concept of suicide in a detailed manner. Suicide is known as the global pandemic in the year of 2017 and is one of the major causes of deaths worldwide. The literature showcased the availability of the suicide prevention programs as well as the use of psychotherapy in curing mental disorder problems. It facilitated finding out the answers to the research questions in an effective manner.

Academic Literature Results’ Contextualization

The Academic context of the literature review depicts the information about the cause of most deaths all around the world and it has been increased within adolescents. In short, it is also identified that the major and primary reason has been referred the suicide, which is the result of the mental health disorder. The occurrence of this issue is easily prevalent considering the fact that the relationship between the mental disorder and the suicide are considered quite obvious. The occurrence of mental disorders is increasing more than ever in the present times among the Australian youth, and the literature review has helped in showcasing the data to prove this point successfully.