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Despite being highly prevalent, adolescent mental health problems are undertreated. To better understand the mental health treatment gap, we assessed the prevalence and correlates of help-seeking, including perceived need for care and access to that care. Data were drawn from Young Minds Matter (YMM) survey-the second Australian child and adolescents survey of mental health and wellbeing. Parent-reported data and self-reported child data were combined into one dataset to analyse 2464 Australian adolescents aged 13-17 years. We employed bivariate and multivariate logistic regression models to assess the correlation between independent variables (professionally assessed with mental disorders only, self-reported self-harm/suicidality only and both) and their distribution over outcome variables (perceived need and service use). Mental disorders include depression, anxiety, ADHD and conduct disorder. Our study revealed 15.0%, 4.6% and 7.7% had professionally assessed with mental disorders only, self-reported self-harm/suicidality only and both, respectively. Overall, 47.4% and 27.5% of adolescents respectively perceived need for care and used services in the past-12-months. While among those only who perceived the need, only 53% of adolescents used any services. Professionally assessed with mental disorders only, self-reported self-harm/suicidality only and both were associated with higher likelihood of perceived need and service use (p < 0.001 for all). However, adolescents who self-reported self-harm/suicidality only were not found to be significantly associated with service use among those who perceived the need for care. Adolescents who perceived the need for mental health care but did not seek care represent a treatment gap. Our results suggest the importance of reducing the wide treatment gap that exists between need and care., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Objectives: Mental disorders and suicidality among adolescents have been identified as a major public health concern worldwide; however, they often do not get the necessary attention from parents, school and health professional, and therefore are left untreated. This study aimed to investigate the factors associated with the use of mental health services among Australian adolescents aged 13-17 with mental disorders and/or suicidality., Methods: Adolescents aged 13-17 (n = 2134) from Young Minds Matter (YMM): the Second Australian Child and Adolescent Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing were included in this study. The YMM is a cross-sectional nationwide survey, in which information was collected from both parents and adolescents (aged 13-17 years). Both bivariate and multivariate analyses were conducted to identify the factors that have an impact on the use of mental health services (outcome variable) in two subsamples: (1) adolescents with mental disorder and (2) adolescents with suicidality., Results: Overall, 740 (34.7%) and 168 (7.9%) adolescents reported a mental disorder and/or suicidality, respectively. The incidence of seeking any service was higher among adolescents with suicidality (approximately 50%) compared to those with a mental disorder (about 30%). Girls, older age-group (15-17), adolescents living with disadvantaged families (lower-income, less educated and unemployed parents), those who had multiple mental disorders and history of substance use were most likely to use mental health services regardless of mental disorder and suicidality. Health services and online services were the most popular type of mental health service among adolescents aged 13-17 across two subgroups, while, school and telephone services were less utilized., Conclusions: Many adolescents with mental disorders and/or suicidality do not use mental health services. The findings indicate differences in factors associated with the use of mental health services among adolescents with mental disorder and suicidality. Further research is needed to address the specific barriers that limit the use of the services., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Aim: In this study, we aimed to identify the determinants of four different forms of mental health service usage (general health services, school counselling, telephone, and online services), and the number of mental health services accessed (single and multiple) by Australian adolescents aged 13–17 years. We also measured socioeconomic inequality in mental health services' usage following the concentration index approach within the same sample. Subject and Methods: The data came from the nationwide cross-sectional survey, Young Minds Matter (YMM): the second Australian Child and Adolescent Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing. Random effect models were used to identify the factors associated with four different mental health services and the number of services accessed. Further, the Erreygers' corrected concentration indices for binary variables were used to quantify the socioeconomic inequality in each mental health service. The four services were the general health service (GP, specialist, psychiatrist, psychologist, hospital including emergency), school services, telephone counselling and online services. Results: Overall, 31.9% of the total analytical sample (n = 2268) aged 13–17 years old visited at least one service, with 21.9% accessing a single service and 10% accessing multiple services. The highest percentage of adolescents used online services (20.1%), followed by general mental health services (18.3%), while school services (2.4%) were the least used service. Age, gender, family type and family cohesion statistically significantly increased the use of general health and multiple mental health service usage (p < 0.05). Area of residence was also found to be a significant factor for online service use. The concentration indices (CIs) were −0.073 (p < 0.001) and −0.032 (p < 0.001) for health and telephone services, respectively, which implies pro-rich socio-economic inequality. Conclusion: Adolescents from low-income families frequently used general mental health services and telephone services compared to those who belonged to high-income families. The study concluded that if we want to increase adolescents' usage of mental health services, we need to tailor our approaches to their socioeconomic backgrounds. In addition, from a policy standpoint, a multi-sectoral strategy is needed to address the factors related to mental health services to reduce inequity in service utilisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Suicidality among adolescents continues to be a serious public health concern worldwide, and suicide is the leading cause of death for young Australians. However, to develop effective preventive interventions, it is essential to understand the types and rates of mental health service utilization among adolescents. This study investigated the association between suicidality and mental health service utilization among Australian adolescents, and to test whether service use is affected by the simultaneous presence of suicidality and mental disorders. Adolescents aged 13–17 years (n = 2134) were used in this study from The Second Australian Child and Adolescent Mental Health and Wellbeing Survey – Young Minds Matter (YMM), which is a nationwide cross-sectional survey. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews with parents using a structured-questionnaire, while, adolescents completed a computer-based self-reported questionnaire privately. The YMM reported four types of mental health service: (1) health services – any services provided by a qualified health professional, regardless of where that service was provided; (2) school services – any services such as counseling or support programs provided by school or any educational institution; (3) telephone counseling services; and (4) online services. Both bivariate and multivariate analyses were used to assess the relationships between independent variables (suicidality, mental disorder) and their distributions over outcome variables (mental health services), adjusting for relevant sociodemographic and potential risk factors such as age, gender, remoteness, household income, family type, family functioning, parents' education, parents' employment, substance use by the child. An interaction between mental disorders and suicidality were included in the regression to examine whether and to what extent service use is affected if an adolescent has both suicidality and a mental disorder. Overall, 168 (8%) adolescents reported suicidality and prevalence of suicidality (ideation, plan and attempt) was higher in adolescents with mental disorders (P < 0.01 for all). Suicidality was high among girls irrespective of mental health condition. Both bivariate and multivariate analyses using child data and parent data showed a strong and significant association between suicidality and mental health service utilization among adolescents. Online service and health services were more likely to be accessed by adolescents with suicidality as reported in child data and parent data, respectively; while, school and telephone counselling service were less utilized within the same population. However, still, a large number of adolescents with suicidality did not access any services, even the incidence of seeking any mental health service was higher among adolescents with suicidality compared to those with a mental disorder. The limited number of suicidal adolescents is using mental health services, which is alarming for prevention of suicide. Further research is warranted to understand the quality of service received by adolescents and the factors influencing service utilization due to mental health-related problems. Also, interventions to improve care, prevention and monitoring are solely required for this group of people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Percentages of bullying (traditional/cyber) victims were high. • Prevalence of mental disorders, self-harm and suicidality were high. • Many bullying victims with mental health problems did not use any services. • Bullying victimization was significantly associated with services use. • School service was linked to interaction terms in traditional bullying victims. Research supports a robust association between bullying, mental disorder, self-harm, and suicidal ideation in adolescence; however, the relation between bullying victimization and access to mental health services is incompletely understood. This study investigated whether traditional and cyberbullying victimization were associated with access to mental health services in adolescents, and to test the interaction between bullying victimization with a mental disorder, self-harm, and suicidal ideation on each service. Data analyses were conducted on 2218 Australian adolescents aged 12–17 years using the Young Minds Matter survey. Binary logistic regression models were employed to assess the odds of using mental health services (health, school, telephone, and online) separately among traditional bullying and cyberbullying victims. Interaction terms – 'bullying victimization and mental disorder', 'bullying victimization and self-harm', and 'bullying victimization and suicidal ideation', – were included in the regression models to examine whether and to what extent service use is affected respectively among traditionally bullied and cyberbullied sample. Overall, 27.6% and 11.2% of adolescents experienced traditional bullying and cyberbullying, respectively. Also, the percentages of any mental disorder (20.4%) and health-risk behaviours (self-harm − 7.6% and suicidal ideation − 8.3%) were significant among the sample. Although many bullying victims did not use any services, both bivariate and multivariate analyses showed a strong and significant association between bullying victimization (traditional and cyber) and access to mental health services. Adolescents who reported both traditional bullying victimization and self-harm were found to be significantly associated with school service (p < 0.05). School service was also significantly (p < 0.05) used among those who experienced both traditional bullying victimization and suicidal ideation. Surprisingly, other interaction terms did not show any significant change in the service use among bullying victims. A limited number of bullying victims with or without mental health problems (mental disorder, self-harm, and suicidal ideation) use mental health services. Further research is warranted to identify the barriers to service use and to promote service utilization in adolescent bullying victims in a way that prevents the effects of bullying timely. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]