Every year ReachOut Australia conducts a nationally-representative survey of 1000 young people’s mental health help-seeking preferences and behaviours to inform service delivery. This presentation details the methodology and findings of the 2014 study. Presented by Atari Metcalf (Senior Evaluation Manager) at the 3rd International Youth Mental Health Conference 2015. Authors: Atari Metcalf and Lorraine Ivancic.

1. Help-seeking preferences and behaviours amongst
young Australians: results from a large nationally
representative cross-sectional study.
Atari Metcalf 1,2 and Lorraine Ivancic 1,2
1.ReachOut.comAustralia
2.ResearchAssociate, Brain & Mind Research Institute, University of SydneyMedicalSchool

2. About the study
• Market research study evaluating ReachOut Australia awareness plus exposure / recall of a
national mental health promotion campaign by ReachOut Australia in 2014 (‘There’s Life After
Year 12 Exams’)
• Leveraged the opportunity to assess past help-seeking behaviours and future help-seeking
intentions
• Aim of today’s presentation: examine to what extent preferences for different sources of help
vary in relation to young people’s socio-demographic characteristics and levels of
psychological distress

3. Background context
• Suicide is the leading cause of death in Australia for 15-24 yr olds1
• Mental ill health is the leading contributor to the burden of disease and
injury (49%) among young Australians aged 15–242
• Half of all lifetime mental health problems start by the mid-teens and three
quarters by the mid-20s3
• Median delay from onset of symptoms to treatment is 10yrs4
– Very problematic! Seeking help early in symptom development is critical to
reducing both the severity and duration of mental health problems

4. Help-seeking data - past Australian studies
• 2007 National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing (16-24yo)5
– 1 in 4 young people experience a mental health problem5
– 70% and 80% of young women and men respectively do not access any help5
– 86% of those who do not access help say they do not because they simply do not perceive any
need for help5
• NEW! 2015 Young Minds Matter, 2nd Australian Child & Adolescent Survey
of Mental Health and Wellbeing (12-17yo)6
– 14% of young people experienced a mental health problem
– 1 in 5 young people (65% of young people with at least one MHD) reported using a service* for
emotional or behavioural problems in the previous 12-months

5. Survey design + methodology
Goals +
aspirations
• Optimism about future
• Goal setting behaviours, barriers/enablers
• Inspiration for goals
TLA Campaign
• Unprompted/prompted awareness
• Conversions (website visitation, sharing content)
• Perceptions (main message, efficacy, impressions)
Brand
awareness
• Unprompted/prompted awareness of ReachOut
• Visitation and engagement
Help seeking
behaviour
• Where would they look for help
• Where they have actually sourced help from in the past
• Where would they go for different scenarios
ReachOut
experience
• When did they go to ReachOut
• What for, and where did they first hear about it
• Will they return and why not
Demographics &
Psych distress
• Age, gender, location, sexuality, cultural background
• Education, employment, living situation
• Psychological distress (K-6)
Sample, N=1,000
• 14-25 years, 50/50 split males &
females
• Nationally representative
location & metro/rural splits
• Recruited via i-Link online
research panel
Data collected between 28 Nov –
12 Dec, 2014 (post-TLA campaign)
Data analysed in SPSS

6. Demographics
Gender
Male 50%
Female 50%
Age group
14-16 25%
17-19 25%
20-22 25%
23-25 25%
State
NSW 32%
VIC 25%
QLD 20%
SA 10%
WA 8%
TAS 3%
NT < 1%
ACT 2%
Region
Metro 61%
Regional 39%
Employment status
FT student 46%
FT paid employment 17%
Paid casual employment 18%
PT paid employment 12%
FT carer [child/family member] 3%
PT student 4%
PT volunteer work 3%
Casual volunteer work 2%
PT carer [child/family member] 1%

7. Demographics
12.7
23
30.6
8 8.6
14.7
2.4
0
10
20
30
40
Percentage
0.3
0.5
0.7
0.9
4.8
6.4
12.5
73.9
0 20 40 60 80
Living in a hostel
Living in a college at Uni
Refused
Other
Living alone
Living with friends/share household
Living with spouse/partner
Living with parent(s)/close family
Percentage

8. Demographics
%
Country of birth
Australia 89.4
Other 10.6
Both parents born in Australia 62.3
Main language spoken at home
English 90
Other languages spoken at home…
0.6
0.8
1.1
1.1
1.6
0 0.4 0.8 1.2 1.6 2
Arabic
Greek
Vietnamese
Cantonese
Mandarin
Percentage

9. Demographics
Aboriginal or Torres Strait
Islander
%
No 95.7
Yes, Aboriginal 2.5
Yes, Torres Strait Islander 0.4
Yes, both Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander
0.2
Don’t know 1.2
Sexual orientation
%
Heterosexual (straight) 89.2
Gay 1.5
Lesbian 1.6
Bisexual 2.5
Unsure or questioning 3.6
Other 1.6
9

10. Psychological distress (K6)
Low %
(n= 451)
Mild to moderate %
(n= 407)
High %
(n=142)
TOTAL 45.1% 40.7% 14.2%
Gender
Males 50.4 39.4 10.2
Females 39.8 42.0 18.2
Age group
14-16 57.2 35.2 7.6
17-19 49.2 37.6 13.2
20-22 40.0 40.8 19.2
23-25 34.0 49.2 16.8
Region
Metro 44.1 41.3 14.6
Regional 46.7 39.8 13.5
Sexuality
Heterosexual 47% 40% 13%
Same-sex attracted 21% 45% 34%
Questioning 28% 50% 22%

11. Help seeking
Intentions and past
behaviours
11

12. Help seeking - intentions
Imagine you have a personal or emotional problem. Who would you seek help from?
61 57 50 44 44
37 35
26 25 20 19 18 16 13
20 26
27
30 28
28 31
26
41
34 32 33 44
24
19 17 23 26 28
36 34
49
34
45 49 49
40
64
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Unlikely
Neither
Likely
Percentage

13. Help seeking - past behaviours
Which have you ever actually used to get information/support about your mental health/wellbeing
39
26 26
22
17 14 14 12
8 7 5 3 2 1
0
10
20
30
40
50
Percentage

14. Future help seeking intentions – significant differences by
gender, geography, psych distress and sexuality
Source Geography
(rural/regional=1 / metro=0)
Gender
(female=1 / male=0)
Psychological distress
(Mild/moderate=1 / low=0
Severe=1 / mild/moderate=0)
Sexual orientation
(Same sex attracted=1, non-
SSA=0)
GP / Doctor No sig. difference No sig. difference YP with severe psych distress were
significantly more likely
(OR: 1.7, sig 0.009, CI 1.135-2.48)
No sig. difference
Partner / boyfriend /
girlfriend
No sig. difference Females significantly more likely
(OR: 1.5, sig 0.003, CI: 1.138-
1.892)
No sig. difference Same sex attracted young
people significantly less likely
(OR: 0.7, sig 0.07, CI: 0.419-
1.035)
Youth or
community centre
No sig. difference Females were significantly less
likely (OR 0.7, sig 0.026, CI
0.491-0.955)
YP with severe psych distress were
significantly more likely
(OR: 2.6, sig 0, CI 1.66-4.172)
No sig. difference
Online search Rural/regional young people were
significantly less likely (OR 0.7,
sig 0.002, CI 0.515-0.866)
Females significantly more likely
(OR: 1.5, sig 0.001, CI: 1.195-
1.991)
YP with mild/moderate OR severe psych
distress were significantly more likely
(OR: 1.6 / 2.0 respectively; sig 0 /
0.001, CI 1.1245-2.156 / 1.333-2.944)
No sig. difference
A specific website Rural/regional young people were
significantly less likely (OR 0.7,
sig 0.03, CI 0.526-0.968)
No sig. difference YP with severe psych distress were
significantly more likely
(OR: 2.0, sig 0.002, CI 1.28-3.017)
No sig. difference
Would not seek
help from anywhere
/ anyone
No sig. difference Females were significantly less
likely (OR 0.6, sig 0.005, CI
0.418-0.856)
YP with severe psych distress were
significantly more likely
(OR: 4.6, sig 0.000, CI 2.880-7.502)
No sig. difference

15. Future help seeking intentions – significant differences by
gender, geography, psych distress and sexuality
Source Geography
(rural/regional=1 / metro=0)
Gender
(female=1 / male=0)
Psychological distress
(Mild/moderate=1 / low=0
Severe=1 / mild/moderate=0)
Sexual orientation
(Same sex attracted=1, non-
SSA=0)
Phone helpline No sig. difference Females were significantly less
likely (OR 0.7, sig 0.03, CI
0.506-0.966)
No sig. difference No sig. difference
Mental health
professional
No sig. difference Females significantly more likely
(OR: 1.4, sig 0.011, CI: 1.081-
1.835)
YP with severe psych distress were
significantly more likely
(OR: 1.8, sig 0.004, CI 1.21-2.67)
No sig. difference
Teacher No sig. difference Females were significantly less
likely (OR 0.7, sig 0.019, CI
0.53-0.944)
No sig. difference No sig. difference
Parents Rural/regional young people were
significantly more likely
(OR: 1.3, sig 0.047, CI: 1.003-
1.722)
Females significantly more likely
(OR: 1.5, sig 0.001, CI: 1.195-
1.991)
YP with mild/moderate OR severe psych
distress were significantly less likely
(OR: 0.5 / 0.4 respectively; sig 0 /
0.001, CI 0.357-0.633 / 0.27-0.598)
Same sex attracted young
people significantly less likely
(OR: 0.5, sig 0.002, CI:
0.311-0.764)
Other family
members
No sig. difference No sig. difference YP with mild/moderate psych distress
were significantly less likely (OR: 0.6,
sig 0, CI 0.466-0.808)
Same sex attracted young
people significantly less likely
(OR: 0.6, sig 0.032, CI:
0.376-0.958)
Magazines / books Rural/regional young people were
significantly less likely (OR 0.7,
sig 0.012, CI 0.469-0.911)
Females were significantly more
likely (OR 1.5, sig 0.008, CI
1.18-2.114)
YP with severe psych distress were
significantly more likely
(OR: 2.0, sig 0.001, CI 1.339-3.262)
No sig. difference

16. Past (actual) help-seeking behaviours – differences by
gender, geography, psych distress and sexuality
Source Geography
(rural/regional=1 / metro=0)
Gender
(female=1 / male=0)
Psychological distress
(Mild/moderate=1 / low=0
Severe=1 / mild/moderate=0)
Sexual orientation
(Same sex attracted=1, non-
SSA=0)
GP / Doctor No sig. difference Females significantly more likely
(OR: 2.1, sig 0, CI: 1.536-2.937)
YP with mild/moderate OR severe psych
distress were significantly more likely
(OR: 2.1 / 4.4 respectively; sig 0 / 0, CI
1.467-3.034 / 2.827-6.881)
No sig. difference
Partner / boyfriend /
girlfriend
Rural/regional young people were
significantly more likely (OR 1.6,
sig 0.016, CI 1.089-2.279)
Females significantly more likely
(OR: 2.3, sig 0, CI: 1.551-3.383)
YP with mild/moderate OR severe psych
distress were significantly more likely
(OR: 1.9 / 2.6 respectively; sig 0.003 /
0, CI 1.237-2.878 / 1.521-4.369)
No sig. difference
Friend No sig. difference Females significantly more likely
(OR: 2.1, sig 0, CI: 1.575-2.835)
YP with severe psych distress were
significantly more likely
(OR: 1.8, sig 0.006, CI 1.186-2.732)
No sig. difference
Online search No sig. difference Females significantly more likely
(OR: 1.9, sig 0, CI: 1.372-2.497)
YP with mild/moderate OR severe psych
distress were significantly more likely
(OR: 2.0/ 3.8 respectively; sig 0 / 0, CI
1.445-2.807 / 2.504-5.845)
No sig. difference
A specific website No sig. difference Females significantly more likely
(OR: 2.1, sig 0.009, CI: 1.207-
3.723)
YP with mild/moderate OR severe psych
distress were significantly more likely
(OR: 2.1 / 6.0 respectively; sig 0.038 /
0, CI 1.042-4.109 / 2.918-12.166)
Same sex attracted young
people significantly more
likely (OR: 2.1, sig 0.03, CI:
1.075-4/068)
Phone line No sig. difference No sig. difference YP with mild/moderate OR severe psych
distress were significantly more likely
(OR: 2.7/ 4.2 respectively; sig 0.009 /
0.001, CI 1.29-5.761 / 1.783-9.695)
Same sex attracted young
people significantly more
likely (OR: 2.6, sig 0.009, CI:
1.258-5.168)

17. Past (actual) help-seeking behaviours – differences by
gender, geography, psych distress and sexuality
Source Geography
(rural/regional=1 / metro=0)
Gender
(female=1 / male=0)
Psychological distress
(Mild/moderate=1 / low=0
Severe=1 / mild/moderate=0)
Sexual orientation
(Same sex attracted=1, non-
SSA=0)
Mental health
professional
No sig. difference Females significantly more likely
(OR: 2.2, sig 0, CI: 1.538-3.162)
YP with severe psych distress were
significantly more likely
(OR: 2.7, sig 0, CI 1.664-4.265)
Same sex attracted young
people significantly more
likely (OR: 1.8, sig 0.018, CI:
1.112-3.052)
Minister or
religious leader
No sig. difference No sig. difference YP with mild/moderate psych distress
were significantly less likely (OR: 0.3,
sig 0.035, CI 0.096-0.917)
No sig. difference
Magazines / books No sig. difference Females were significantly more
likely (OR 2.4, sig 0.001, CI
1.44-3.994)
YP with mild/moderate psych distress
were significantly more likely
(OR: 1.8, sig 0.033, CI 1.049-3.044)
No sig. difference

18. Conclusions &
limitations
18

19. Limitations
• Cross-sectional design
– can only determine an association exists
• Rigour of help-seeking questions used
– Lack of vignette results in lower reliability and validity
• Online panel – likely to skew the sample
– More likely to prefer online?
– Excludes young people with lower literacy levels and likely to be more difficult for those with
English as a second language

20. Conclusions & implications
• Help-seeking preferences vary considerably by different socio-demographic factors
– Psychological distress was associated with an increased likelihood of future and past help-seeking for most sources of support,
though many young people with high K6 scores had not previously sought professional help
– Young females were more likely than males to report past and future help-seeking for most sources (except teachers,
youth/community centres and – for intentions only – phone help lines).
– SSA YP were less likely to intend to seek help from their parents, families or partners in the future, but were more likely than their
non-SSA peers to have previously sought help from websites, phone lines and mental health professionals
– Rural and regional YP were less likely to intend to seek help online or from magazines/books, and were more likely to intend to
seek help from parents and have actually sought help from their partners
• Help-seeking intentions in those with moderate and high levels of psychological distress appear consistent with
the “help-negation” effect observed in other youth population studies
– i.e. higher psychological distress was associated with higher likelihood to report a preference to seek help from no-one or nowhere
AND a lower likelihood to intend to seek support from family and friends. These participants also had higher odds of having
previously used anonymous sources of support (online search, websites, phone help lines).
Implications for policy and practice
• Underscores need to make a wide variety of options available & to tailor service offering
• Need to build community capacity to identify and better support young people in distress
• Need to build young people’s skills to recognise warning signs earlier