Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41639672›Full record

ArticleChild and adolescent psychiatry and mental health2026

Adolescent mental health help-seeking behaviours in rural Australia: cross-sectional analysis of a nationwide cohort study.

Ali Ahmed, Riaz Uddin, Allen G Ross, Shannon Edmed, Anayochukwu E Anyasodor, Subash Thapa, Kedir Y Ahmed, Catherine Keniry, Feleke H Astawesegn, Mahmood Shakeel and 2 more

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Article in Child and adolescent psychiatry and mental health, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors.

Ali AhmedRural Health Research Institute, Charles Sturt University, Orange, NSW, Australia.
Riaz UddinRural Health Research Institute, Charles Sturt University, Orange, NSW, Australia.
Allen G RossRural Health Research Institute, Charles Sturt University, Orange, NSW, Australia.
Shannon EdmedChild Health Research Centre, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
Anayochukwu E AnyasodorRural Health Research Institute, Charles Sturt University, Orange, NSW, Australia.
Subash ThapaRural Health Research Institute, Charles Sturt University, Orange, NSW, Australia.
Kedir Y AhmedRural Health Research Institute, Charles Sturt University, Orange, NSW, Australia.
Catherine KenirySchool of Rural Medicine, Charles Sturt University, Orange, NSW, Australia.
Feleke H AstawesegnRural Health Research Institute, Charles Sturt University, Orange, NSW, Australia.
Mahmood ShakeelRural Health Research Institute, Charles Sturt University, Orange, NSW, Australia.
Simon S SmithChild Health Research Centre, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
M Mamun HudaRural Health Research Institute, Charles Sturt University, Orange, NSW, Australia. mhuda@csu.edu.au.

Funding

The Commonwealth Government of Australia 4-DGEJZ1O/4-CW7UT14
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundAdolescent mental health outcomes are often poorer in rural areas of Australia, and most adolescents do not seek help, highlighting a critical gap in understanding help-seeking behaviours. This study examined mental health help-seeking patterns and associated factors among rural Australian adolescents.

methodsData from Wave 8 of the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children, including 4,837 adolescents aged 14-19 years, were analysed. The prevalence of help-seeking overall and by remoteness, as defined by the Australian Bureau of Statistics were estimated. Cluster-adjusted multiple logistic regression models were used to examine factors associated with help-seeking behaviours.

resultsHelp-seeking behaviours were generally lower among adolescents from rural areas compared to their urban counterparts. Seeking face-to-face mental health professional help was significantly less common in outer regional and remote areas (7.72%, 95% CI: 5.39-10.93) compared to urban areas (12.20%, 10.97-13.54). Furthermore, males reported significantly lower professional help-seeking behaviours (2.76%, 1.33-5.63) than females (13.53%, 9.08-19.70) in outer regional and remote areas. Similar sex disparities were observed in non-face-to-face (e.g., internet, phone) help-seeking. The most common predictors of help-seeking behaviours were ongoing anxiety or depression and good parent-child relationships. Other statistically significant predictors included suicidal thoughts and behaviours, single-parent family, community participation, social media exposure and drug use. Two predictors (i.e., financial hardship for formal help-seeking and community engagement for informal help-seeking) varied statistically significantly between rural and urban settings.

conclusionStrategies to address lower prevalence of mental health help seeking among rural male adolescents in Australia should be sensitive to context-specific barriers and designed to meet their unique needs. Adolescent-focused digital interventions and strengthened family and community engagement are vital to ensuring equitable access to mental health services for adolescents in rural Australia.

Indexed as

Adolescent mental healthAustraliaHelp-seeking behaviourPsychological healthRural health services

Identifiers

PMID41639672
PMCPMC12964690

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