In 2007 Mission Australia conducted its 6th consecutive annual survey of young Australians aged 11 to 24 years.  The survey was completed by 29,000 young people (up from around 14,700 in 2006) including close to 1,700 Indigenous young people and about 4,000 young people who spoke a language other than English at home. More than 400 young Australians who were homeless or living in insecure housing also participated in the survey.

The primary purpose of the survey was to identify the important and emerging issues of young people.  You can read the results of the survey at http://www.missionaustralia.com.au/youthsurvey/ (or read on for a brief discussion on some of the priority issues identified in the report).

The survey's areas of focus include: what young people value; what concerns them; where they turn for advice and support; their engagement in community activities; and who they admire.

Following are comments on some of the priority issues raised in the report and a description of the survey methodology.

Priority issues Raised

Body image

The level of concern regarding body image, including for both genders and across all age groups, highlights the need for multi-layered responses and the involvement of many organisations and individuals, including families, schools, governments, community organisations and the advertising and media industries.

The Environment

The survey highlights that this is clearly a significant issue of concern for many young people.

Mental Health Issues

These continue to be prominent issues of concern in particular for young adults, with the need for strategies to help them cope with stress as well as their concern about depression. Related to this is the significant level of concern about bullying/emotional abuse shown by younger respondents, especially those aged 11 to 14 years, and the need for strategies to help them deal with this issue.

Alcohol and Physical/Sexual Abuse

The level of concern from young males regarding alcohol suggests the need for ongoing education and programs regarding this issue. Similarly, strategies that help young women deal with physical/sexual abuse are required given their significant level of concern regarding this issue. Both of these areas may well require gender-specific program and policy responses.

Survey methodology

The survey was distributed to a wide array of organisations including all secondary schools and public and tertiary libraries in Australia. It was also distributed to all Mission Australia services as well as a large network of other service providers, Commonwealth, state/territory and local government departments, youth organisations, peak bodies and corporate partners. It was also available online.

The survey did not use a random sampling technique, however, the participation of close to 29,000 young people from diverse backgrounds and communities across Australia ensures a very robust sample.

The survey was deliberately kept brief (15 questions) in order to encourage a high level of response.The first seven questions sought respondents’ opinions on a variety of issues, while the remaining eight collected demographic data including age, gender, location, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander identification and disability status.

On the key questions of what young people value, their issues of concern, and their sources of advice when they have a problem, respondents were presented with a number of options which they were asked to rank in order of importance.

The data presented in this report which relates to these questions represents the proportion of young people who ranked the items one, two or three.

This methodology follows that of previous years and enables comparisons across the years of the survey.

The survey questions have remained largely unchanged since 2002, primarily to enable longitudinal comparisons.There have, however, been some changes to the list of options provided for some questions based on responses to previous surveys as well as ongoing feedback from young people, youth workers and researchers.

Full results from the survey are available at http://www.missionaustralia.com.au/youthsurvey/.

Source: Mission Australia