Rates and covariates of suicidal behaviour and mental ill-health in young Australians: findings from wave one of the Right Here, Right Now national survey
Abstract
Objective: To examine the rates of suicidal ideation, self-harm, and symptoms of depression and anxiety among Australians aged 12 to 25 years, and covariates. Design: A multi-wave national cross-sectional survey. Setting and participants: Participants were recruited online from research panels, boosted through convenience sampling. Data were weighted by age, gender, and location. Main outcomes: Rates of suicidal ideation, self-harm, depressive and anxiety symptoms. Population-weighted descriptive statistics were used to examine prevalence; logistic and linear regressions identified demographic, clinical and social covariates. Results: N=2,863 participants were included in analysis. Mean age was 18.6; 50.7% (1439/2840) were cisgender men/boys; 4.5% (127/2840) were trans and/or gender diverse. One in three (32.1%, 859/2680) reported lifetime suicidal ideation, 26.8% (748/2787) lifetime self-harm and 8.0% (210/2631) lifetime suicide attempt. Twelve-month prevalence rates were 14.6% (387/2655) for suicidal ideation and 12.5% (347/2779) for self-harm. 38.9% (1107/2847) reported at least moderate depression symptoms, and 34.6% (988/2857) reported at least moderate anxiety symptoms. Rates of suicide-related behaviour, depression and anxiety were highest in trans and/or gender diverse young people followed by cisgender women/girls. Covariates for suicidal ideation and self-harm included loneliness, younger age, depressive symptoms, >2 adverse childhood experiences, and suicide bereavement. Covariates associated with depression and anxiety outcomes also included social exclusion/withdrawal, sleep problems, and alcohol or other drug problems. Conclusions: Suicidal ideation, self-harm and mental ill-health in young Australians appear higher than previous estimates, and are particularly high among young women/girls and trans and/or gender diverse youth. Findings highlight the need for urgent responses that extend beyond individual-level intervention to address the broader social conditions shaping young people’s mental health. The study also points to the need for timely and robust data that can inform practice and policy and help evaluate new initiatives. Future waves of this survey will help these efforts.
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BibTeX
@misc{robinson2026rates,
title = {{Rates and covariates of suicidal behaviour and mental ill-health in young Australians: findings from wave one of the Right Here, Right Now national survey}},
author = {Jo Robinson and Bridget Kenny and Elise Carrotte and Shu Mei Teo and Caroline X. Gao and Eleanor Bailey and India Bellairs-Walsh and Gowri Rajaram and Deanna DeCicco and Alex Dalton},
howpublished = {PsyArXiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.31234/osf.io/v6xjs_v1},
url = {https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/v6xjs_v1/},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Rates and covariates of suicidal behaviour and mental ill-health in young Australians: findings from wave one of the Right Here, Right Now national survey
AU - Jo Robinson
AU - Bridget Kenny
AU - Elise Carrotte
AU - Shu Mei Teo
AU - Caroline X. Gao
AU - Eleanor Bailey
AU - India Bellairs-Walsh
AU - Gowri Rajaram
AU - Deanna DeCicco
AU - Alex Dalton
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/24
PB - PsyArXiv
DO - 10.31234/osf.io/v6xjs_v1
UR - https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/v6xjs_v1/
AB - Objective: To examine the rates of suicidal ideation, self-harm, and symptoms of depression and anxiety among Australians aged 12 to 25 years, and covariates. Design: A multi-wave national cross-sectional survey. Setting and participants: Participants were recruited online from research panels, boosted through convenience sampling. Data were weighted by age, gender, and location. Main outcomes: Rates of suicidal ideation, self-harm, depressive and anxiety symptoms. Population-weighted descriptive statistics were used to examine prevalence; logistic and linear regressions identified demographic, clinical and social covariates. Results: N=2,863 participants were included in analysis. Mean age was 18.6; 50.7% (1439/2840) were cisgender men/boys; 4.5% (127/2840) were trans and/or gender diverse. One in three (32.1%, 859/2680) reported lifetime suicidal ideation, 26.8% (748/2787) lifetime self-harm and 8.0% (210/2631) lifetime suicide attempt. Twelve-month prevalence rates were 14.6% (387/2655) for suicidal ideation and 12.5% (347/2779) for self-harm. 38.9% (1107/2847) reported at least moderate depression symptoms, and 34.6% (988/2857) reported at least moderate anxiety symptoms. Rates of suicide-related behaviour, depression and anxiety were highest in trans and/or gender diverse young people followed by cisgender women/girls. Covariates for suicidal ideation and self-harm included loneliness, younger age, depressive symptoms, >2 adverse childhood experiences, and suicide bereavement. Covariates associated with depression and anxiety outcomes also included social exclusion/withdrawal, sleep problems, and alcohol or other drug problems. Conclusions: Suicidal ideation, self-harm and mental ill-health in young Australians appear higher than previous estimates, and are particularly high among young women/girls and trans and/or gender diverse youth. Findings highlight the need for urgent responses that extend beyond individual-level intervention to address the broader social conditions shaping young people’s mental health. The study also points to the need for timely and robust data that can inform practice and policy and help evaluate new initiatives. Future waves of this survey will help these efforts.
ER -