Facts and Statistics
[ Definition ] [ Population Context ] [ Mental Health ] [ Suicide ]
On Wednesday 31 March 2010, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released the 2008 Causes of Death data. The suicide statistics on this webpage will be updated by Friday 16 April 2010 to reflect the new data.
For a summary of the updated 2008 data, refer to Recent Australian Data section on the media professionals website
Caution must be exercised in examining information and data on patterns of mental illness and suicide in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities as accurate statistics and population estimates are unavailable. Data that are available are limited in quality. Discussion in the field draws both on available Australian research and limited data on hospitalisation and mortality rates for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The following information is presented to progress the development of an understanding of the factors that influence and impact on the mental health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians.
An Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander person is a person of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander descent who identifies as an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander and is accepted as such by the community in which he or she lives.
Population Context1
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples comprise 2.4% of the total Australian population, with estimates as of June 2001 at 458,500. Torres Strait Islanders comprise 11% of the total Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population.
- A significant proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people (69%) live outside the major urban centres. In 2001, around one in four Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians lived in remote areas compared with only one in fifty other Australians.
- Over half of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population live in either NSW (29%) or QLD (27%). Although the Northern Territory (NT) has only 12% of Australia's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people they represent 29% of the total NT population, which is the highest proportion in any state or territory. Over half (58%) of all Torres Strait Islander people live in Queensland.
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are a young population with a median age of 20.5 years compared with 36.1 years for other Australians. As a result, it can be misleading to make direct comparisons with the broader Australian population which has a different age structure.
- The estimated life expectancy at birth of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is much lower than for other Australians.
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- Some people, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians prefer the term "social and emotional wellbeing", rather than "mental health" because of its more positive and holistic connotations2.
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have traditionally viewed health as including not only the physical health of the person, but also the social, emotional and spiritual wellbeing of the whole community.
- Trauma and grief have been identified as significant issues for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and for individuals.
- At present, there isn't any definitive national data about the incidence or prevalence of mental disorders among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Limited available research however supports the conclusion that serious mental disorders occur in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations, and such disorders are at least as common as they are among other Australians.
- Data on hospitalisation and mortality due to serious mental disorders and illnesses are currently the main sources of information about mental disorders in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. These data sources 3 4 indicate that:
- The chance of an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander person being involuntarily admitted to psychiatric care is three to five times higher than for other Australians.
- In 2001-02, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were hospitalised for conditions classified as 'mental and behavioural disorders' at a higher rate than other Australians.
- The rate of hospitalisation for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians diagnosed with mental disorders due to psychoactive substance use was four to five times higher than the rate for other Australians.
- While mental illness and emotional distress may cause Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians to come into contact with the criminal justice system, incarceration may also be a risk factor for mental illness5.
- Several surveys have shown that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians are less likely than other Australians to drink alcohol, but those who do drink are more likely to consume it at hazardous levels6.
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians are also at risk of ill health when using illicit substances such as marijuana, heroin, amphetamines and inhalants (for example petrol, glue or aerosols).
- There are no reliable national data on petrol sniffing, but case studies indicate that the practice continues to be a major problem in some Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. Effects of petrol sniffing include aggression, lack of coordination, hallucinations, respiratory problems and chronic disability, including mental impairment7.
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- Suicide and self-harming behaviours were not part of traditional Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture, prior to contact with Europeans. However, suicide and self-harm now occur more frequently in these communities than among other Australians.
- As with other data about health and wellbeing in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, it is difficult to know the true extent of suicide. The available data on population estimates, hospitalisation and mortality rates are likely to be an underestimate.
- Suicide is more concentrated in the earlier adult years for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people than for other Australians8.
- Death rates from suicide for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander males and females are over twice the rate for other Australian males and almost twice the rate for other Australian females.
- In recent years, the death rate from suicide for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander males was highest in the 15 to 34 year age group. For females, the rates have generally been highest in the 15 to 24 years age group.
- The suicide rate among older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is low compared to other age groups and other Australians of the same age, however, as a smaller number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people live to an age over 65 years it is not possible to draw many conclusions from this9.
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References
1 Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2002a). Population Distribution, Indigenous Australians, 2001. ABS Cat. No. 4705.0. Canberra, ACT: Australian Government.
2 Australian Health Ministers. (2003). National Mental Health Plan 2003-2008. Canberra, ACT: Australian Government.
3 Australian Bureau of Statistics & Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2003). The Health and Welfare of Australia's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, 2003. ABS Cat. No. 4704.0; AIHW Cat. No. IHW11.
4 Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2004). National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey, 2002. ABS Cat. No. 4714.0.
5 Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission. (1993). Human Rights and Mental Illness: Report of the inquiry into the human rights of people with mental illness. Canberra, ACT: Australian Government.
6 ABS & AIHW. (2003). op cit
7 d'Abbs, P. & MacLean, S. (2000). Petrol Sniffing in Aboriginal Communities: a review of interventions. Darwin, NT: Cooperative Research Centre for Aboriginal and Tropical Health.
8 Thomson, N., Burns, J., Burrow, S., & Kirov, E. (2006). Overview of Australian Indigenous Health. Available online at http://www.healthinfonet.ecu.edu.au/html/html_overviews/overview.pdf.
9 Centre for Mental Health. (1997). NSW Aboriginal Mental Health Policy. A Strategy for the delivery of mental health services for Aboriginal people in New South Wales. Sydney: NSW Health Department.
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