Mental+Health+and+the+affects+of+Cyber+Bullying+in+Teenage+Australians

Brent Compton SN: n8355126 Tutor: Sophie Millier

** Artefact: ** [] Adam’s Song by band Blink 182 is a song related to suicide and depression in young people. It was written by band member Mark Hoppus when he received an email that showed a letter that a kid wrote before he committed suicide to his parents. The song has been known for its powerful lyrics including such lines as, “I traced the cord back to the wall, no wonder it was never plugged in at all" and “I'm too depressed, to go on, you’ll be sorry when I'm gone”.

** Public Health Issue: ** The Public Health issues examined in this wiki will focus on mental health and how it especially affects young Australians and why more and more teenagers are being affected through cyber bullying. This essay will report on the reasons behind the rise in mental health disorders (focussing on depression, suicide and cyber bullying) in teenagers throughout Australia and what is currently being done in order to combat this. Adam’s Song represents mental health in young people in today’s society. The lyrics in the song can be related to depression and feeling lonely before finally succumbing to suicide which is a pattern that many young people may experience in their lifetime. This can be seen in current relevant literature.

** Literature Review: ** The World Health Organisation (WHO) (2011) defines mental health as "A state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease". According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (2010) 11% of all Australians had suffered from a mental illness at some point in their lifetime. As well as this, the study found that between 20-25% of young people aged 12-17 and 25-40% of those aged 18-24 suffer from a mental health disorder. Out of all Australians, between the ages of 12-24 is then most at risk of developing a mental health disorder. Recent studies have shown that vulnerability to mental illness is heightened at this time and over three quarters (76%) of people who experience a mental disorder during their lifetime will first develop a disorder before the age of 25 (DoHA, 2004). In 2007, the AIHW (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare) released a report into the burden of disease in Australia (Begg et al, 2007). The report found that mental disorders were the greatest burden of disease for those aged 15-24 in Australia.

Teenage suicide has become a very serious problem and has been labelled as a growing epidemic by many health professionals worldwide (Tam, C., Lee, T., Har, W., & Chan, L. 2011). Reasons around teenage suicide include, younger people attempting suicide because of a loss of a sense of hope and a loss of a sense of the future (Brown, 2001). As times are rapidly changing, teenagers experience a lot of confusion and uncertainty about their future. Marusic, Roskar, and Hughes (2004) studied Slovenian adolescents and found that 13% of the teenagers had a family member who had attempted suicide, 9% lost a family member as a result of suicide. As teenagers are easily influenced, they might decide to model the behaviour of the people closest to them or those whom they admire. In Australia, the 2007 Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing asked people about suicidal tendencies in the previous 12 months. In 2007, people with a mental illness were much more likely to have had serious thoughts about committing suicide than other people (8.3% compared with less than 0.8%). The rate was highest for people with mood disorders (17%). (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2009).

These statistics are shocking and really show just how serious mental health can be in teenagers. Social networking sites and social media could be contributing to the steady increase of mental health issues in today’s youth due to society’s current dependency on technology. According to Kowalski (2009) Cyber bullying has been shown to cause higher levels of depression and anxiety for victims than traditional bullying and has also been connected to cases of youth suicide with teens known to engage in reading hurtful comments days before their suicide attempts. Victims of cyber bullying have also been related to the development of general psychological distress and poor psychosocial adjustment (Raskauskas, Stoltz, 2007). Internet use, particularly the use of chat rooms and instant messaging can be addictive (Becker & Murphy, 1988) and risky if teenagers indiscreetly divulge private information, indulge in inappropriate behaviors, and encourage contact with strangers. Finkelhor et al. (2000) conducted a survey on the internet use of representative youth aged 10 to 17 years in the United States, one in seventeen were harassed or threatened and only a fraction reported these cases while more than 63% reported being upset, embarrassed or stressed as a result of these unwanted contacts.

This shows that teenagers need to be made aware of the dangers of the internet, it is clear that most young people do not fully comprehend the consequences that cyber bullying may have. People have called for harsher penalties for cyber bullying with some people wanting restrictions for certain websites to take place. In California, a new law has been introduced that gives school officials the power to suspend or expel students who are found guilty of cyber bullying (Anirban, Anoshura, 2011). In Australia, only NSW has Australian jurisdiction to enact legislation specifically directed at bullying in schools. For cyber bullying to be stopped, teenagers need to be made aware of the impact of cyber bullying, education programs should be implemented at schools to teach students about cyber bullying and the mental illness that it can cause. Currently in Australia there are some programs attempting to reduce mental illness. Beyond Blue is a non profit foundation that works in schools, universities and workplaces to help people that suffer from a mental illness. Australia lacks a special program or system dedicated to teenage mental illness which doesn’t make much sense as statistics show that 15-24yr olds are most prone to suffer from a mental health problem. Teenagers need to be made aware of the help that is available to them, whether it is through beyond blue or even something like the kids help line.

** Critical Analysis: ** Teenagers who suffer from mental health problems are very much involved in different aspects of culture and society. Attempting to fit into society for someone that suffers from a mental illness would be extremely difficult as they are prone to constant ridicule especially as most people at this age are at school. Phyllis, Tantillo, Feldman and Perrone, 2004, found that a hierarchical order of social acceptance in people with mental illness does exist and that people suffering from a mental illness normally are socially distant and find it hard to form friendships. The public’s attitude towards mental health sufferers has not seemed to change over time, a study that took place in 1950 was compared with the Mental Health Module of the 1996 General Social Survey and it found that although people now understand that a mental illness can now happen to anyone, the perception of persons with mental illness being violent have increase twofold (Phelan, Link, Stueve, & Pescosolido, 2000).

Theorist Emile Durkheim described four different types of suicide: egoistic, altruistic, fatalistic and anomic. He described egoistic suicide as the type that occurs when the degree of social integration is low and there is a sense of meaningless among individuals, for example a loner (Unknown, 1999). This can be related to teenage suicide, with many teenagers feeling isolated and alone through depression before finally succumbing to suicide. Unfortunately, the societies that Durkheim studied were undergoing a transitional period moving from late feudalism to early industrialism whereas the transition today is moving from collectivistic to individualistic in nature (Willis, 2002), and this makes it hard to apply more of Durkheim’s theory.

When people see a mentally ill person in society, most feel some sort of emotion towards them, however unfortunately there are still some people who find it funny to stare or bully people with mental problems. This makes life difficult for mentally ill people trying to fit into society or trying to socialize. It isn’t just the teenager that suffers though; family members also have to deal with a day to day struggle of living with a child that suffers from a mental illness. In Australia it has been estimated that mental health symptoms result in a loss of $ AU2.7 billion in employee productivity (Kulkarni, 2007). According to Kulkarni, depression that needs to be hospitalized alone costs $10 Billion per year. This shows that unfortunately mental health has a negative impact on the Australian economy. There are no sources that list how much teenage mental health costs the nation but it would be assumed that the bill would be lengthy.

So far all that has been talked about are the negative aspects that mental illness has on society and how negatively current society looks down on mental health sufferers. However there are some positive signs that show that this could be changing. Kolodziej and Johnson (1996) found that “increased contact between persons with mental illness and students and mental health employees improved attitudes. The more frequent the contact, the less authoritative and restrictive were the attitudes of the nondisabled”. Corrigan and associates (2001) also reported more public familiarity with mental illness. Hopefully this is the start of society’s perception of mentally ill people changing, if people are educated properly there should be more acceptance towards the mentally ill. More programs are suggested in order to help teenage mental illness decline.

** Analysis of Artefact/Reflection: ** The artefact “Adams Song” represents depression and suicide in young people in today’s society. It can be related towards how many young people feel as they go through certain points of life. It relates well to mental illness in teenagers and what they go through however it does not really relate to cyber bullying in any way. The artefacts relates personally because it is disturbing to see the steady incline of teenage depression and suicide in today’s culture. Dealing with mental illnesses especially something like depression would be a lonely experience and this song explores just how lonely it can be.

After researching this topic it is clear that mental health amongst young Australians is on the rise especially due technology and social networking sites that encourage cyber bullying. By critically analysing this subject it can be seen that society still isn’t used to the mentally ill and unfortunately it seems that they are still looked on as a burden as opposed to contributing to society. I have learnt through this assessment piece that mental health in teenagers in Australia is a problem that needs to be looked at and that cyber bullying really is a growing concern in the 21st century.

**Discussion:**

Comment 1. I found your wiki very interesting considering that i also researched mental health and especially suicide. The artefact that you used was very relevent and it related well to your chosen topic. The program, "Time to change" seems like a good idea and a similar program should be set up in Australia. Your cultural analysis was very interesting and i found it very interesting that different cultures report their symptoms differently based on their cultural background. The different methodologies that you discussed (quantitative and qualitative) were also very interesting and two methodologies that i had never heard of before. The statistics that you talked about were eye opening especially the statistic that 20,000 people are found to have a mental health disorder every year! It certainly is a fascinating topic and i believe that you did a fantastic job in reviewing and analysing it! Well done :)

http://healthculturesociety.wikispaces.com/message/view/The+Backpack/45738868

Comment 2. Really interesting topic and wiki. I found the song that you used for your artefact to be very relevant towards your chosen topic. I thought the study that you used by Morris to be really interesting because i didnt know just how bad Australia's health care system used to be towards the mentally ill. Then comparing it to the current system was a really good idea as it shows just how far we have come as a society. The cultural analysis was very well done, you made some good points around the fact that a mentally ill patient can also affect family members and friends. I was stunned by the statistics related towards how much mental health is costing in the United States, with $150 Billion dollars being spent on treatment in one year alone. A really interesting and captivating wiki, well done ! :)

http://healthculturesociety.wikispaces.com/message/view/The+Invisible+Plague.+Mental+Illness+on+The+Rise/45740668

Comment 3. I found this wiki to be very interesting considering this is a topic that i have never really researched! Your artefact was really relevant towards your topic and it represented consumer-obsession and generation Y nicely. I found your comments on Gen Y to be interesting especially how you related it back to mental health and individualism which conveyed your topic perfectly. I also thought your research on materialism was fascinating especially the comments on how materialism is not related to happiness. The critical analysis was really strong and i thought it was a good idea that you used the theories of Durkheim to help analysis your topic. I was captivated by your wiki and i found it very easy to read, im interested to find out more about indivualism and materialism and how it effects Gen Y. Great Job :)

http://healthculturesociety.wikispaces.com/message/view/Is+the+price+we+pay+for+consumer-obsession+and+individualism+worth+it%3F+/45741634

Reference Page Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2010). //Mental Health in Australia, 2010.// Retrieved from: http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/ abs@.nsf/Latestproducts/4840.0.55.001Media%20Release12007? opendocument&tabname=Summary&prodno=4840.0.55.001&issue=2007&num=&view=

Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2005). //Mental Health in Australia – a snap shot, 2005.// Retrieved from: []

Becker and Murphy, 1988 G.S. Becker and K.M. Murphy, A theory of rational addiction. Journal of Political Economy, 96 (1988), pp. 675–700

Brown, P. (2001). Choosing to die - a growing epidemic among the young. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 79, 1175-1177.

Corrigan, P.W., Green, A., Lundin, R., Kubiak, M.A., & Penn, D.L. (2001). Familiarity with and socialdistance from people who have serious mental illness, Psychiatric Services, 52, 953-958.

Department of Health and Ageing (DoHA) 2004, Responding to the Mental Health Needs of Young People in Australia: Discussion Paper: Principles and Strategies, DoHA, Canberra.

Finkelhor et al., 2000 D. Finkelhor, J.M. Kimberly and J. Wolak, Online victimization: A report on the nation's youth, National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, Arlington, VA (2000).

Gordon, P. A., Feldman, D., & Perrone, K. (2004). Attitudes regarding interpersonal relationships with persons with mental illness and mental retardation. Journal of Rehabilitation, 70(1), 50-50-56. Retrieved from []

Kolodziej, M.E., & Johnson, B.T. (1996). Interpersonal contact and acceptanceof persons with psychiatric disorders: A research synthesis. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 64, 1387-1396.

Kowalski, R.N. (2010). //Alexis Pilkington Facebook Horror: Cyber bullies harass even after// // suicide. // Retrieved on June 3, 2011 from website: []

Phelan, J.C., Link, B.C., Stueve, A., & Pescosolido, B.A. (2000). Public conceptions of mental illnessin 1950 and 1996: Has sophistication increased? Has stigma declines? Journal of Health and SocialBehavior, 41 (2), 188-207.

Sengupta, A., & Chaudhuri, A. (2011). Are social networking sites a source of online harassment for teens? evidence from survey data. Children and Youth Services Review, 33(2), 284-284-290. doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2010.09.011

Tam, C., Lee, T., Har, W., & Chan, L. (2011). Perception of suicidal attempts among college students in Malaysia. Asian Social Science, 7(7), 30-30-41. Retrieved from [] Teen Suicide, Mood Disorder, and Depression (2007). American Academy of Pediatrics. 0-2. Retrieved from: []

Willis, K. (2005). Theories and Practices of Development. New York. Routledge Publishing.