New research finds young people in regional Australia as stressed about the future as their city counterparts but less likely to seek support

20 November 2020

New research has found that over 50 per cent of young people living in regional, rural and remote areas of Australia are worried about their future, however when compared to their city counterparts they are less likely to seek support.*

In the nationally representative survey of 1000 young people by youth mental health organisation ReachOut, 73 per cent of young people living in metro areas indicated they would talk to someone about their stress about the future, compared to just over 62 per cent of young people in regional, rural and remote areas.

Almost half of young people living in metro areas said they would go online for support, compared to 40 per cent of young people living in regional, rural and remote areas.

Ashley de Silva, CEO of ReachOut, said that future stress could have a major impact on the mental health of young people in regional areas if they did not seek support.

“Our new research has found that for most young people in regional, rural and remote Australia stress about the future is one of their top concerns. For 14 per cent it is their number one concern right now.

“Young people across Australia are concerned about what their futures are going to look like in terms of what jobs will be available, what kind of lifestyle they will be able to afford, and of course issues such as climate change.

“We know that factors such as uncertainty, economic recession and the constant changes brought about by COVID-19 restrictions have in many cases exacerbated this stress about the future. Importantly, when stress is left untreated it can have a significant impact on a young person’s mental health.

“Traditionally access to mental health services have been challenging for young people in regional areas. These findings are an opportunity to remind young people in regional, rural and remote areas that support is available for them for free, 24/7 via ReachOut.com including a range of content and peer support forums, no matter where they live.

“I also encourage young people in regional areas to talk to those that they trust about what’s going on for them and to make an appointment with their GP if they feel they need additional support.”

ReachOut has recently released updated support materials for young people on future stress.

For more information about ReachOut visit ReachOut.com.

*Survey of 1000 young people aged 14-25 years, Representative for metro/regional status, conducted in July 2020.

ReachOut’s future stress support materials

• Youth: https://au.reachout.com/collections/future-stress

• Parents: https://parents.au.reachout.com/collections/future-stress

Statistics overview

Survey of 1000 young people aged 14-25 years, Representative for metro/regional status, conducted in July 2020.

• Worrying about the future is a key concern for young people (experienced by similar numbers of young people living in metro areas vs regional, rural and remote (RRR).

• Worrying about the future was selected as a key issue by 47.9% (335/699) of young people living in urban areas, and 50.6% (161/318) of young people living in RRR areas.

• Half of young people living in RRR areas indicated worrying about the future was a key concern for them.

• 2% of young people living in RRR areas indicated that worrying about the future was their top concern at the moment.

• Worrying about the future was the second most common concern for young people living in RRR areas and young people living in metro areas, following study stress.

• 8% of young people living in metro areas indicated they would seek social support for stress about the future (would talk to someone about this issue) compared to 62.1% of young people living in RRR areas.

• 0% of young people living in metro areas would go online for support for stress about the future, compared to 39.8% of young people living in RRR areas. 

About ReachOut

ReachOut is the most accessed online mental health service for young people and their parents in Australia. Their trusted self-help information, peer-support program and referral tools save lives by helping young people be well and stay well. The information they offer parents makes it easier for them to help their teenagers, too.

ReachOut has been championing wider access to mental health support since they launched their online service more than 20 years ago. Everything they create is based on the latest evidence and is designed with experts, and young people or their parents. That’s why ReachOut is a trusted, relevant service that’s so easy to use.

Accessed by more than 2 million people in Australia each year, ReachOut is a free service that’s available anytime and pretty much anywhere.