Female teenagers - especially those from lower-socio economic backgrounds - and gender-diverse adolescents in Australia are significantly more likely to experience worsening mental health symptoms over their high school years according to a new study.
The study All things being equal? Longitudinal patterns of mental disorder symptoms and associations with key social determinants in a large cohort of Australian adolescents of over 6,600 Australian teenagers and published in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health in June 2025 surveyed teenagers multiple times from years 7 to year 10, allowing them to track how mental health symptoms developed over time.
The study is perhaps the largest of its kind and provides new insights into Australian adolescents’ mental health. Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use at the University of Sydney postdoctoral research associate and lead author of the study Dr Scarlett Smout said, “Mental health symptoms were alarmingly common and increased as teenagers aged. By year 10, nearly three in 10 teens in this sample had probable major depression, almost one in four reported high mental distress and nearly one in four had moderate-to-severe anxiety symptoms.
“We were very concerned to find that mental health symptoms were so widespread in this large cohort of Aussie teens. While our sample wasn’t representative, it provides further evidence that current generations of teenagers are suffering more than those before them.”
Senior research fellow and co-author of the study Dr Katrina Champion said that knowing which groups were most at risk was vital to help inform what support and programmes were offered.
She said, “Compared to males, females and gender diverse teens experienced greater symptoms of distress, anxiety and depression, especially those from less affluent backgrounds.
“More work needs to be done directly with teenagers in these vulnerable groups to develop tailored mental health prevention and support programmes.”
Public Health Association of Australia CEO and adjunct professor Terry Slevin said, “This study shows that mental health symptoms in our younger generation are disturbingly common, deteriorate over time and are affecting some of the more vulnerable segments of our community. We need more research to better understand what’s driving these trends, as well as how we can invest in prevention to protect the mental health of teenagers.”