Connect
MJA
MJA

Emerging themes in Aboriginal child and adolescent mental health: findings from a qualitative study in Sydney, New South Wales

Anna B Williamson, Beverley Raphael, Sally Redman, John Daniels, Sandra J Eades and Naomi Mayers
Med J Aust 2010; 192 (10): 603-605. || doi: 10.5694/j.1326-5377.2010.tb03649.x
Published online: 17 May 2010

Improving mental health and social and emotional wellbeing and access to mental health services are key goals of the National Indigenous Health Equality Targets.1 These goals are relevant for Aboriginal children and adolescents (“young people”), who are disproportionately exposed to risk factors for poor mental health, including the ongoing grief and loss caused by colonisation, socioeconomic disadvantage and discrimination.2 Indeed, research indicates that Aboriginal young people are significantly more likely than their non-Aboriginal counterparts to meet criteria for emotional or behavioural problems2 and to commit suicide,3,4 but less likely to access mental health services.2

Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal concepts of mental health are different.5 For Aboriginal Australians, mental health is an inseparable part of spiritual, cultural and social wellbeing, with the wellbeing of the individual, family and community inextricably linked.6 However, surprisingly little is known about Aboriginal concepts of young people’s mental health, the factors that influence it, or how Aboriginal people perceive child and adolescent mental health services.

To provide some insight into these issues, we outline themes related to the mental health of Aboriginal young people that emerged from focus groups conducted in Sydney.

Methods

We collected qualitative data between April 2008 and September 2009 at three Aboriginal community-controlled health organisations (ACCHOs) in Sydney: the Aboriginal Medical Service Western Sydney, Tharawal Aboriginal Corporation, and the Aboriginal Medical Service Co-operative Limited in Redfern. Key contacts within each service used purposive sampling to recruit Aboriginal parents (visiting the centre for any reason) and workers (particularly those whose work involved young people or mental health) of both sexes to participate in either focus groups or small group interviews, depending on the preference of each medical service.

A semi-structured approach was used to elicit participants’ opinions regarding the characteristics of Aboriginal young people with good mental health and the factors associated with its development; signs that young people have mental health problems; what causes these problems; how these problems are or should be managed; and the role of services. Focus groups and interviews were of 1 to 2 hours’ duration, with two to 10 participants in each group. Interviews were audiotaped and data were transcribed by a person with no personal or professional connection to the communities involved in the study. Audiotapes were securely transported and stored in locked filing cabinets.

Transcribed data were coded independently by A B W using the constant comparative method. The analysis of discussion was thematic.7

This study was approved by the Board of each participating ACCHO and the ethics committees of the Aboriginal Health and Medical Research Council of New South Wales, the University of Sydney and the University of New South Wales. All focus group and small group participants provided written informed consent before the commencement of the groups.

Results

Forty-seven people participated; 30 were women. Fifteen participants were parents and 32 were Aboriginal workers (30 of whom were also parents).

The mental health of young people was considered by all to be a major issue. Several key themes emerged and were categorised as family and kinship relationships, identity, confounding factors, and issues surrounding service access and implementation. There was much commonality in the views expressed by workers and parents, with the exception that workers expressed more concern about service access and implementation.

Issues surrounding service access

A major theme throughout was the extent to which many Aboriginal families felt unable to access mental health services, either for young people or their carers, for fear of government authorities becoming involved and children being removed. This was the case for minor as well as serious mental health problems and was seen as a dangerous situation that exacerbated the difficulties being experienced.

ACCHOs were noted to be places where families could feel safe in seeking help; however, participants believed that increased funding of child and adolescent mental health services was needed for most ACCHOs in Sydney.

Participants felt that families were often better equipped than services to help young people with minor wellbeing issues, but services were seen as necessary in some situations. The majority of participants reported major problems with gaining access when services were sought.

Participants expressed frustration that services were often not made available to young people until a major problem, such as an arrest, had already occurred. On the other hand, participants felt that young people were sometimes referred to mental health services for normal behaviour. In particular, there was a perception that diagnoses of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder were too readily applied.

Discussion

The results of this study illustrate the cultural specificity of many of the factors underpinning the mental health of Aboriginal young people and their use of mental health services. They reflect the importance of obtaining Aboriginal input, and that of ACCHOs in particular, into mental health policy and service provision for Aboriginal young people.

Our findings suggest that an exploration of issues surrounding extended family is an important starting point for clinicians working with Aboriginal young people. Indeed, given the perceived dominance of family in determining mental health status, involving family members may be particularly important. Peer relationships, while important, were seen to be less significant than family relationships. In particular, many participants felt that young people who interacted well with family had good mental health, regardless of any difficulties they may experience with peers or others.

As has been noted for Indigenous adults,8-10 a strong sense of identity as an Aboriginal person was considered critical for the mental health of young people and essential to developing the resilience needed for overcoming the discrimination that Aboriginal people experience. Problems with identity can be extremely damaging and may be more common among those who do not have close contact with their extended family or an Aboriginal community to which they feel they belong. Such problems are complex11 and may be particularly difficult to recognise and address outside of clinical settings with Aboriginal workers who are able to provide the relevant cultural expertise.

While the study reflects much commonality between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal views of what constitutes problematic behaviour,12 a key concern raised was that Aboriginal young people may be incorrectly diagnosed with mental health problems due to behavioural or emotional problems caused by physical or social factors. In particular, hearing, speech and learning difficulties may lead to social withdrawal, disruptive behaviour and apparent difficulties with concentration. The results of our study suggest that clinicians should rule out or manage these issues before assuming a mental health problem is present, although it should also be recognised that both physical and mental health (social, emotional and behavioural) problems may be present.

Major barriers to accessing mental health services were identified by participants, particularly workers, who reported that many families avoided accessing services because of the perceived potential for unwarranted intervention from government organisations. When services were sought, the waiting times for treatment were reported to generally exceed a year. While substantial unmet need for mental health services has been documented for Aboriginal2 and non-Aboriginal Australian young people,13 it is unclear whether the major barriers to service are the same for both groups.

A lack of intersectoral collaboration was also perceived as a key barrier to the effective prevention and treatment of mental health problems among Aboriginal young people. Participants recognised the multifactorial causes of apparent and actual mental health difficulties among Aboriginal young people and highlighted a need for services to adopt a partnership approach when working with families, to ensure that all relevant issues are addressed. The involvement of Aboriginal workers across all sectors was considered essential to ensure that services are delivered in a culturally appropriate manner. These recommendations are in keeping with the priorities outlined in the National Strategic Framework for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ Mental Health and Social and Emotional Well Being 2004–2009.14

The findings presented here are derived from the views of participants recruited through ACCHOs located in Sydney. They do not necessarily reflect the views of other Aboriginal people living in Sydney or Aboriginal people living in other parts of Australia, given the high levels of diversity between communities.

Our results suggest that clinicians should be mindful of critical issues for Aboriginal young people including family, identity, and physical and social factors that may confound their diagnoses. Non-Aboriginal clinicians should work closely with their Aboriginal colleagues in order to do this appropriately. An urgent need was identified for mental health services to become more accessible, culturally safe, and able to work with families holistically. ACCHOs may be ideally placed to address many of these concerns, provided adequate funding is made available.

  • Anna B Williamson1,2
  • Beverley Raphael3,4
  • Sally Redman2
  • John Daniels5
  • Sandra J Eades6
  • Naomi Mayers5

  • 1 School of Public Health and Community Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW.
  • 2 Sax Institute, Sydney, NSW.
  • 3 School of Medicine, University of Western Sydney, Sydney, NSW.
  • 4 Psychological and Addiction Medicine Unit, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT.
  • 5 Aboriginal Medical Service Cooperative Limited, Sydney, NSW.
  • 6 Indigenous Maternal and Child Health Group, Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute, Melbourne, VIC.



Acknowledgements: 

We thank the study participants, their communities and the staff at the participating ACCHOs. This research was funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC). Anna Williamson holds an NHMRC Public Health (Australia) Training Fellowship Grant (ID: 510 391).

Competing interests:

None identified.

  • 1. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner and the Steering Committee for Indigenous Health Equality. Close the gap. National Indigenous health equality targets. Outcomes from the National Indigenous Health Equality Summit, Canberra, Mar 18-20, 2008. Sydney: Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, 2008. http://www.hreoc.gov.au/social_justice/health/targets/health_targets.pdf (accessed Aug 2009).
  • 2. Zubrick S, Silburn SR, Lawrence DM, et al. Western Australian Aboriginal Child Health Survey: the social and emotional wellbeing of Aboriginal children and young people. Perth: Curtin University of Technology and Telethon Institute for Child Health Research, 2005.
  • 3. Australian Health Ministers. National Mental Health Plan 2003–2008. Canberra: Australian Government, 2003.
  • 4. Parker R, Ben-Tovim DI. A study of factors affecting suicide in Aboriginal and ‘other’ populations in the Top End of the Northern Territory through an audit of coronial records. Aust N Z J Psychiatry 2002; 36: 404-410.
  • 5. Swan P, Raphael B. Ways forward: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mental health policy national consultancy report. Canberra: Australian Government, 1995.
  • 6. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Measuring the social and emotional wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Canberra: AIHW, 2009. (AIHW Cat. No. IHW 24.)
  • 7. Glaser B, Strauss A. The discovery of grounded theory: strategies for qualitative research. Chicago: Aldine, 1967.
  • 8. Ypinazar VA, Margolis SA, Haswell-Elkins M, Tsey K. Indigenous Australians’ understandings regarding mental health and disorders. Aust N Z J Psychiatry 2007; 41: 467-478.
  • 9. O’Brien A. Factors shaping Indigenous mental health: an ethnographic account of growing up Koori from a Gubba perspective. Aust J Holist Nurs 2005; 12: 11-20.
  • 10. Vicary D, Bishop B. Western psychotherapeutic practice: engaging Aboriginal people in culturally appropriate and respectful ways. Australian Psychologist 2005; 40: 8-19.
  • 11. Dudgeon P. Indigenous identity. In: Dudgeon P, Garvey D, Pickett H, editors. Working with Indigenous Australians: a handbook for psychologists. Perth: Gunada Press, 2000: 43-51.
  • 12. American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental health disorders. 4th ed. Washington, DC: APA, 1994.
  • 13. Sawyer MG, Miller-Lewis LR, Clark JJ. The mental health of 13–17 year-olds in Australia: findings from the National Survey of Mental Health and Well-Being. J Youth Adolesc 2007; 36: 185-194.
  • 14. Social Health Reference Group for National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Council and National Mental Health Working Group. A national strategic framework for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ mental health and social and emotional well being 2004–2009. Canberra: Department of Health and Ageing, 2004.

Author

remove_circle_outline Delete Author
add_circle_outline Add Author

Comment
Do you have any competing interests to declare? *

I/we agree to assign copyright to the Medical Journal of Australia and agree to the Conditions of publication *
I/we agree to the Terms of use of the Medical Journal of Australia *
Email me when people comment on this article

Online responses are no longer available. Please refer to our instructions for authors page for more information.