Australia Survey: Body Image Biggest Worry for Young

November 26, 2008

With unemployment set to rise you may think job security is the biggest worry among young Australians - but you'd be wrong.

According to the largest annual survey of Australian youth, body image, drugs and family conflict top the list.

The Mission Australia survey quizzed more than 45,000 people aged between 11 and 24.

Just over a quarter of respondents listed body image, drugs and family conflict as their top three concerns.

Body image was the biggest concern, but received less votes than the 2007 survey in which one third of respondents said it was what they worried about most.

On the flip side, the number of people who identified drugs as their main concern increased from one fifth of respondents in 2007 to one quarter in 2008.

Results on all issues also varied with age and gender, and ethnicity.

Concern about appearance increased with age and was the top issue for young adult respondents, particularly women, while drugs were a greater concern among those aged 11-14 years.

The survey also asked respondents what they valued the most.

Financial and job security lagged far behind family and friends.

Family relationships were most valued by about three quarters of respondents.

Surprisingly, just over 15 per cent said getting a job was their highest priority, and was almost twice as important to boys than girls.

While the survey indicated that indigenous and non-indigenous youth shared many similarities, it also uncovered some stark differences.

Alcohol was the second biggest concern for indigenous youth, and eighth for non-indigenous people.

Indigenous people also put a higher value on getting a job, accounting for about one quarter of respondents.

Kate Haines, 15, from Canberra, who took part in the survey, rated family conflict and body image among her chief concerns.

When it came to what she valued most, family relationships topped her list.

She said the survey showed that her generation was often falsely stereotyped as being too materialistic.

"People often don't see how younger people behave when they are with their families," Kate said.

"They hear stories about how some youths behave like Corey (the notorious party boy) and assume that everyone is like that, when they really do care more about family than possessions."

================================================================
To contact the list administrator, or to leave the list, send an email to: wunrn_listserve-request@lists.wunrn.com. Thank you.