Frequently Asked Mental Health Questions
The National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing was conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics [External link] in 2007 using a nationally representative sample of 8,841 respondents aged between 16 and 85.
The symptoms of a mental disorder were experienced at some time during the twelve-month period prior to the survey by an estimated 3.2 million people (20% of the population aged between 16 and 24), while 7.3 million (45%) reported a lifetime mental disorder.
Women were more likely than men to have experienced symptoms of a mental disorder during the previous twelve-months (22% of women compared to 18% of men) and young women reported the highest rates (30% for those women aged 16 to 24).
Women were more likely than men to report the symptoms of anxiety disorders during the previous twelve-months (18% of women compared to 11% of men). Women were also more likely to report affective disorders, such as depression (7% of women compared with 5% of men). Men were more than twice as likely to report the symptoms of substance use disorders (7% of men compared with 3% of women). Young men reported the highest rate of substance use disorder, 16% for those men aged 16-24.
Young people were much more likely to report a mental disorder in the previous twelve-months (26%) and there was a steady reduction in this rate with increasing age.
The National Health Priority Areas Report on Mental Health defined mental health as 'the capacity of individuals and groups to interact with one another and the environment, in ways that promote subjective wellbeing, optimal development and the use of cognitive, affective and relational abilities'. A diverse range of social, environmental, biological and psychological factors can impact on an individual's mental health. In turn, people can develop symptoms and behaviours that are distressing to themselves or others, and interfere with their social functioning and capacity to negotiate daily life. These symptoms and behaviours may require treatment or rehabilitation, even hospitalisation.