Youth mental ill health and secondary school completion in Australia: time to act

Abstract

Aim: This paper reviews the evidence of youth mental ill health and its impact on secondary school educational attainment. Methods: This narrative review presents the current research related to the mental ill health of young people in urban and rural Australia, their educational attainment and the effectiveness of mental health strategies implemented in secondary schools. Results:: The prevalence of mental ill health is high for Australian young people and the onset of depression, anxiety, substance-use disorders and first episode psychosis (FEP) commonly occurs when the individual is at school. The prevalence is reported to be higher for rural young people and barriers to treatment exist. ..