Abstract
Objective: To assess whether psychological distress has changed in the Australian population. Method: Data were obtained from national household surveys of 1964 Australian adults in 1995 and 3507 in 2003-2004. Psychological distress was measured using the 4-NS, which asks about symptoms of depression, anxiety, irritability and nervousness in the past month. The data were analysed by gender and by age group, from 20-24 years to 70-74 years. Results: Psychological distress was found to have increased in men aged 20-29 years. This change was observed even when the same cohorts were compared. No change was found in women or in other male age groups. Conclusions: These data show the need for routine population monitoring of mental health to determine subgroups requiring priority action.
| Original language | English |
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| Pages (from-to) | 47-50 |
| Number of pages | 4 |
| Journal | Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry |
| Volume | 40 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Jan 2006 |