Share some data that relates to your research topic. by Lucy Andrew

Social Media Impact on Teenagers Mental Health - Cheynae Jones

2025-02-19 10:45:11 UTC

Teenagers' excessive use of social media has increased dramatically, rising from 7% in 2018 to 11% in 2022, according to new statistics from the World Health Organisation Regional Office for Europe. There are significant concerns regarding the effects of digital technology on young people's mental health and wellbeing, especially in light of the fact that 12% of teenagers are at risk of engaging in inappropriate gaming (Teens, Screens and Mental Health, 2021).

Teens, screens and mental health. (2021). Who.int. https://www.who.int/europe/news-room/25-09-2024-teens--screens-and-mental-health

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Autism prevalence in Australian youth - Madlyn Wright

2025-02-21 04:17:30 UTC

As of 2022, Australia's population consisted of 1.1% of people diagnosed with autism. Data shows that people within the ages of 5 to 14 were the most likely to have been diagnosed, with a steady decline happening in age groups from 15 to 24. In 2018, 3.2% of children in the 5-14 age group were autistic. A 1.1% incline is shown in the data from 2022 where 4.3% of the same age group were autistic. The decline in prevalence can be seen in the ages 15-24 where 2.0% were autistic in 2018, followed by an increase of 1% in 2022, showing 3.0% of those ages were diagnosed with autism (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2024).

Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2024). Autism in Australia, 2022. Australian Bureau of Statistics. https://www.abs.gov.au/articles/autism-australia-2022

Autism in young Australians - Alycia Lenton

2025-02-21 08:48:03 UTC

There has been a significant increase in Australians with autism within a two year period from 2018 to 2022, with autism rising to 1.1% from its previous 0.8%. There is 4.3% documented autism in ages ranging from 5-14 years. This is a 1.1% increase since 2018. Sex at birth also seems to play a role in autism prevalence in young Australians between males and females, with 6.1% of males diagnosed, compared to 2.3% for females. (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2024)

Australian Bureau of Statistics (2024). Autism in Australia, 2022. Australian Bureau of
Statistics. https://www.abs.gov.au/articles/autism-australia-2022#autism-prevalence

Tayla Hunt - Increase in number of children homeschooled in Australia post-pandemic

2025-05-01 05:41:18 UTC

According to a 2024 report from the QLD Department of Education, from 2020 to 2024 within the state, numbers of children educated from home rose from 4,297 to 11,314 (Queensland Department of Education, 2024).

These figures were explored in a recent ABC News article. Attitudes towards the education system have changed post-pandemic, with 45,000 children being homeschooled across Australia in 2024, in Queensland there was a 122.2% increase of home schoolers of primary school level, and a 221.7% increase for secondary students (Marie, J., 2025). Various factors have been identified throughout as contributing to this decision. Many parents have identified that they prefer to be an active presence in their children’s lives, experiencing firsthand the changes and developing ideas evolving through them. The relationship to the institution of education has changed and many parents are preferring to be more involved in their children’s daily lives (Marie, J., 2025).

There are complications around cost benefit and potential pitfalls. Many parents will report that home schooling is easier on finances, though many households of home schoolers will require one parents to leave work or reduce hours to facilitate the time needed for teaching and monitoring their children (Marie, J., 2025).

Ultimately home-schooling parents believe it will be necessary for community liaisons to have more involvement with families to help them navigate and understand the complexities of homeschooling and cope with its challenges (Marie, J., 2025).

Resources:

Queensland Government Department of Education. (2024). Home education registrations. https://qed.qld.gov.au/our-publications/reports/statistics/Documents/home-education-registrations.pdf

Marie, J. (2025). Homeschooling becomes more mainstream as registrations rise in Australia. ABC News, https://educationhq.com/news/homeschooling-numbers-are-surging-why-and-should-we-be-concerned-182591/

Philip Paasuke (Teaching Team)

2025-05-06 23:33:15 UTC

Looking forward to seeing what you've found - share some data and tell us what it means!

Ben Jays (Psychology) - Physical and Mental Impacts of Covid

2025-05-11 09:48:10 UTC

The Covid-19 pandemic saw a significant impact to the way we conducted life. There were consequences to our physical and mental wellbeing and we all coped differently.

A survey conducted in May 2021 stated that 39% of participants used good sleep hygiene to manage impacts to their physical health. The same survey resulted in 72% of those surveyed used techniques excluding formal services to manage their mental health during this time. This included meditation, mindfulness and yoga.

The survey outlined that sleep and holistic wellbeing played a significant role in managing the stressors of the Covid-19 pandemic

Australian Bureau of Statistics (2021). Household Impacts of Covid-19 Survey. Insights into the prevalence and nature of impacts from COVID-19 on households in Australia. Australian Bureau of Statistics. https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/people-and-communities/household-impacts-covid-19-survey/may-2021

2025-05-17 23:09:49 UTC

The National Health Measures Survey (NHMS) 2022–24 was conducted from January 2022 to April 2024 and involved the collection of biomedical samples from participants aged 5 years and over across Australia, excluding very remote areas and discrete Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

It measured specific biomarkers for chronic disease and nutrition status, from tests on blood and urine samples from volunteering participants selected in either the National Health Survey 2022 or the National Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey 2023.

Biomarkers collected include:

chronic disease biomarkers, including tests for diabetes, cardiovascular disease, kidney disease and liver function
nutrient biomarkers, including tests for iron, folate, vitamin B12, iodine, vitamin D, sodium and potassium levels.

In addition to chronic disease and nutrient biomarkers, the NHMS 2022–24 included tests for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, which are chemical contaminants found in the environment.

Participants’ self-reported information on health conditions and health risk factors, such as diet, physical activity and smoking, was taken from their responses in the other IHMHS surveys. For more information, see Overlap between surveys in the IHMHS.

This was the second time the ABS collected voluntary biomedical data in the NHMS. It was previously collected in 2011–13.

For main findings, see National Health Measures Survey, 2022–24.

For more information on the scope, geography, collection method, reporting guidelines used and history of changes, see National Health Measures Survey methodology, 2022–24.

Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2020-24). National Health Measures Survey 2022–24. ABS. https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/detailed-methodology-information/concepts-sources-methods/intergenerational-health-and-mental-health-study-concepts-sources-and-methods/2020-24/about-intergenerational-health-and-mental-health-study/national-health-measures-survey-2022-24.

The effect of autism and disability on education – Louise Aslat

2025-08-02 16:57:30 UTC

People with autism spectrum disorder face difficulties within their learning environment. The addition of a disability increases these impacts. In 2022, 97.3% of those aged 5-20 years with ASD and a disability had an educational restriction. 53.4% were more than twice as likely to have trouble fitting in socially in comparison to non-autistic people with a disability at only 23.2% and communication difficulties are almost tripled at 51% compared to only 16.7% in those with just a disability.

Australian Bureau of Statistics (2024, October). Autism in Australia, 2022. ABS https://www.abs.gov.au/articles/autism-australia-2022#autism-prevalence

Anxiety Disorders in Australia - Wayan Arnup (Psychology)

2025-08-03 09:56:56 UTC

According to data gathered in the 2020-2022 National Study of Mental Health and Wellbeing (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2024), 17% of Australians aged between 16-85 had experienced anxiety disorder symptoms within the last 12 months. Young females aged between 16-24 were disproportionately impacted at 40.4% and with the most common type of anxiety disorder impacting this demographic being social phobia. This study was conducted during the Covid 19 pandemic during which time both social interactions and physical activity were restricted for many Australians and analysis of the data over a longer period would be helpful to determine whether these factors contributed significantly to these statistics.

Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2023, October 5). National Study of Mental Health and Wellbeing. Australian Bureau of Statistics. https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/health/mental-health/national-study-mental-health-and-wellbeing/latest-release#data-downloads

RAJAN - Effects of global growth (IMF).

2025-08-06 02:57:17 UTC

By analysing the market sentiments and identify the issues, inflation is expected to decline further there are some levels of uncertainty which includes digitalisation and AI , surely enhance productivity and potential growth but on side-lines it will also impact the human interactions and unemployment will go up, Normally countries involving in these programs either have low reserves and countries without agreements hold strong reserves.

According to world economic outlook (2025 Jul) as tensions between the countries related to tariffs all stock markets in Europe and Asia slipped. as some countries will be high as 50 percent and there's uncertainty in stock exchange and inflation excluding volatile food and energy, starting to see problems in economy already. These risks could be led to weaker growth geopolitical tensions may also effect global supply chain market commodity prices will go up.

In my opinion, tariffs is just to raise revenue there are better ways to less damage to consumers, less damage to workers and less damage to our international standing, According to U.S department of commerce key inflation report

Core consumer prices (excluding food and energy) rise 0.4% in June that's up 2.8 percent from a earlier year were weaking the global economy, and that put downward pressure on the price of oil and rising prices on lots of other stuff, specially the types of goods that are subjected to tariffs its all because (MAGA) Make America Great Again

Aaron Ivan - Long-term health conditions (ABS)

2025-08-06 04:04:35 UTC

The 2021 Australian Census included, for the first time, a question asking if a doctor or nurse had diagnosed respondents with a long-term health condition lasting six months or more. These conditions included arthritis, heart disease, mental health issues, and others (Australian Bureau of Statistics [ABC], 2022). Nearly one-third (31.7%) of Australians reported having at least one chronic condition, and females reported higher rates than males, partly due to age differences.

Mental health conditions, arthritis, and asthma were most common, with mental health issues more evenly spread across ages. Geographic and cultural factors also influenced prevalence, with overseas-born populations generally showing fewer conditions, reflecting the "healthy migrant effect".

About 8% of people did not respond to the health question, likely due to sensitivity and self-reporting challenges. Despite this, the Census offers important insights for healthcare planning and policy.

Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2022). Long-term health conditions, Australia, 2021 Census. https://www.abs.gov.au/articles/long-term-health-conditions

Conflicting data regarding mental health in elderly men - Kirsten Burley

2025-08-07 03:18:37 UTC

In reviewing data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) National Study of Mental Health and Wellbeing (NSMHW) 2020-2022. When specifically looking at data from Any 12-month Anxiety disorder, by sex and age, 2020-2022, and only Australian males. The ABS indicates that Males of 75-85 years of age had a lower proportion of anxiety disorder at 4% than Males of 65-74 at 6.3% and Males of 55-64 at 11.3%. If we compare the same data from the 2020-2021 study, the results are very similar. Males of 75-85 years of age had a lower proportion of anxiety disorder at 4.5% than Males of 65-74 at 6.4% and Males of 55-64 at 10.2%. An interesting comparison is the study by Almeida et al. (2023), where comment is made on depressive and anxiety disorders increasing with age. This longitudinal study looked at 38,173 Western Australian men, aged 65-85 years, between 1996 and 2018. There was a limitation to the comparison due to a slight variation in the definition of disorders, the study only covered males, and a smaller sample size. Examining the data for anxiety, we observe a peak of 6.9% in individuals >/= 85 years, followed by a decrease to 2.2% in those aged 80-84 years, a further reduction of 1.3% in individuals aged 75-79 years, and finally aged 70-74 years a further decrease to 0.6%. This demonstrates a lesser proportion of anxiety as the age bracket decreases.

Almeida, O. P., Hankey, G. J., Yeap, B. B., Golledge, J., Etherton‐Beer, C., Robinson, S., & Flicker, L. (2023). Prevalence of mental disorders among older Australians: Contrasting evidence from the 2020–2021 National Study of Mental Health and Wellbeing among men and women and the Health In Men Data Linkage Study. Australasian Psychiatry, 31(6). https://doi.org/10.1177/10398562231191692

Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2023). National study of mental health and wellbeing. Australian Bureau of Statistics. https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/health/mental-health/national-study-mental-health-and-wellbeing/2020-2022

Teens, screens and mental health - Heather Basford

2025-08-07 07:26:51 UTC

World Health Organisation (2024, September). Teens, screens and mental health. https://www.who.int/europe/news/item/25-09-2024-teens--screens-and-mental-health