Our new research has found that stress about the future is having either a moderate or major impact on the wellbeing of nearly 55 percent of young people. In addition, the research found that over 54 percent of young people are moderately to extremely stressed about the future and that these stress levels are on the rise because of the pandemic.
In a survey of over 1000 young people, the most common causes of feeling stressed about the future were study and exam pressures (39%), being able to afford the lifestyle they wanted (30%), being able to survive financially (29.5%), building a career in their chosen field (28%) and their mental and physical health (28%).
The study also found that the most common age for stress about the future to start was between 14 and 16 years of age (39.5%).
Ashley de Silva, CEO of ReachOut, said that these new findings provided important indicators about how stress about the future is manifesting for young people, when they are experiencing it and what can help.
“This new research by ReachOut shows that stress about the future is impacting the wellbeing of large numbers of young people in Australia and that this issue is on the rise due to COVID-19. Almost 60 percent of young people in the survey told us that they feel more stressed about the future because of the pandemic.
“From the survey, we can see that almost 20 percent of young people surveyed had turned to a mental health professional to help them cope with stress about the future. Similar numbers were turning to online searches or websites (18%) and social media (16%) for support.
“Some of the positive self-help strategies young people told us they are using to help them cope with stress about the future included watching tv or listening to music (57%) and spending time with friends and family (50%).
“These insights confirm that now is an important time for ReachOut to continue to place a focus on supporting young people, in particular those aged 14 - 16 years, when it comes to stress about the future. ReachOut is in the places that young people are looking for this support, including online and via social media, and we also have referral pathways to other mental health professionals. ReachOut also has a range of supports for parents whose teens are feeling stressed about the future,” he said.
For more information and to access ReachOut support when it comes to stress about the future, including content, tips and online communities visit: ReachOut.com and ReachOut.com/Parents.
MEDIA CONTACT
Tessa Anderssen / tessa@reachout.com / 0411 708 587
KEY STATS
Findings from an online survey of 1000 young people aged 16-21 years conducted by ReachOut in February 2022.
- Over 44 percent of young people indicated they are moderately stressed about the future and over 10 percent said they were extremely stressed about the future.
- 42 percent said stress about the future had a moderate impact on their wellbeing and almost 13 percent of young people surveyed indicated that stress about the future was having a major impact.
- Almost 60 percent of young people feel more stressed about the future because of the pandemic.
- Most commonly young people said they started to feel stressed about the future between the ages of 14 and 16 years (39.5 percent).
- The most common issues causing of stress about the future were: study and exam pressures (39%), being able to afford the kind of life they plan (30%), being able to survive financially (29.5%), building a career in their chosen field (28%) and their mental and physical health (28%).
- Watching tv or listening to music was the most common strategy used by young people to help them manage stress about the future (57%), followed by spending time with friends and family (50%).
- Friends and family were the most common sources of help young people turned to when it came to stress about the future followed by mental health professional (19%), online search or website (18%).
- Over 11 percent of young people indicated that they used medication to deal with stress about the future and over seven percent indicated that they turned to drugs and alcohol.
ReachOut's information about Future Stress
For young people: https://au.reachout.com/collections/future-stress
For parents: https://parents.au.reachout.com/collections/future-stress
