After a tough couple of years for young Australians, a survey shows that their mental health and social lives are heading in a positive direction, despite the ongoing pandemic.
Researchers from the Australian National University (ANU) surveyed more than 3,500 Australians in August and more than two-thirds said their life had improved in the past year.
"The improvement was greatest for younger Australians, so particularly those aged 18 to 24 years," said Professor Nicholas Biddle, co-author of the survey by ANU's Centre for Social Research and Methods.
"Not only did their mental health outcomes, life satisfaction, psychological distress improve, but also when they were asked to reflect on their own lives, they were more likely to identify improvements compared to other age groups," he said.
Physics student Jess said her life is "so, so much better" in her first year at uni since last year when she was doing her HSC from home.
"My mental health really declined during that period… I had a lot of anxiety," she said.
"I felt like I couldn't do anything else apart from study so I was on my laptop 24/7."
Another first year uni student Jamie said having nothing to look forward to really impacted her mood.
"I'm happier now," she said.
"I'm looking forward to travel – having that ahead gives me something to look forward to and work towards."
Distress still above pre-pandemic levels
Professor Biddle attributed the resilience among 18 to 24 year olds to the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions since the lockdowns a year ago, allowing them to socialise, work and study again.
"Our borders have opened up and also the labour market has improved, such that the types of industries which young Australians work in are seeing demands for their labour," he said.
However, despite young Australians bouncing back faster than other age groups, the results of the survey were not as optimistic as they seemed.
"There's still a lower level of life satisfaction for that group and a higher level of psychological distress for that group than pre-pandemic," Professor Biddle said.
"It's certainly the case that we need to keep making sure that our kind of policy response balances both protection from disease, but also protection from negative mental health aspects."
Bureau of Statistics data showed higher rates of mental illness and distress in 18 to 24 year olds than any other age group.
Youth mental illness 'still too high'
President of the Australian Psychological Society, Tamara Cavenett, said rates of mental illness among 18 to 24 year olds were still too high.
"So currently the data for young adults looks pretty bleak," she said.
"And it really shows what people are experiencing in terms of what they call the shadow pandemic."
Ms Cavenett warned that cutting back the mental health rebate scheme, which is planned at the end of this year, would impact young people suffering mental illness.
In 2020, the federal government announced Australians on a mental health treatment plan whose mental health was impacted by the pandemic, could access an additional 10 Medicare subsidised psychological therapy sessions until December 2022.
"Essentially from December we're scheduled to have a million sessions that had been provided, literally ceased overnight, and literally mid treatment for so many people," Ms Cavenett said.
"That's going to have a huge impact because it's often how people are accessing their mental health care right now, which is through Medicare."
"It's the generation that have been most impacted by the pandemic… and to be pulling away support, you know, is just illogical."
