Young women twice as likely to develop mental illness as boys: report

Young women are almost twice as likely to be struck down by mental illness during adolescence as young men, according to an eye-opening Australian study.

The joint report, commissioned by Melbourne's Mission Australia and Sydney's Black Dog Institute, found Australia's 15 to 17 year olds showed signs of heightened psychological problems.

The report, released on Tuesday, found that 26.5 percent of females and 13.9 percent of males from that age group suffered from a mental illness.

Mission Australia chief executive Catherine Yeoman said on Wednesday the data confirmed young women were especially vulnerable to mental demons, even though young men were still more likely to commit suicide each year.

"We know from other research that there are several factors which young women are dealing with that are shown to impact more on them than young men," Yeoman told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).

"It's not surprising to see the top three issues that young women are most likely to be either very or extremely concerned about were coping with stress, school and study, and body image."

Generally, one in five young Australians exhibited signs of mental illness.

The authors of the report have urged the Australian government to consider their findings before it finalizes its response to April's National Mental Health Review (NMHR).

The NMHR found Australia's "system (was) in need of substantial redesign and repair", according to Chair of the Commission Professor Allan Fels.

The commission made 25 recommendations across nine areas which they hoped would "prevent illness, support recovery, keep people well, and enable them to lead contributing lives".

Fels said it was "unacceptable" that 2,500 Australians took their own lives each year, and a "major overhaul" was required. Endit