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Resilient but hurting: how young Australians feel

New study reveals what matters to young people in Australia today

<p>An extensive report gauging the pressures experienced by young Australians has been released by Monash University’s Centre for Youth Policy and Education Practice&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>After a comprehensive survey of 505 young people from every corner of the nation and a series of in-depth interviews&comma; the <em>Understanding Young People in Australia Today<&sol;em> report echoes the voices of Australia’s 18-24 year olds&period; <&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>This is the second annual <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;u26892420&period;ct&period;sendgrid&period;net&sol;ls&sol;click&quest;upn&equals;B8NE7CRkW4hCmh1dHfJbPqXuJWHpE60DIwSJE-2FgzmhyYbRTZspip7Bi7CABl-2FTd8ptab4wb2cGDLObcr2yWJU1qc1u8pBOAFSg-2FfhhS3WxYxEjoHzJT9IGNZ6swH2WxVKfkWLY0WwRL9pJgcKBa8dg-3D-3D8ARc&lowbar;XvxxD007k0Bl2z7OxVGNETKNnzyr47vkT3ug3GHJOz3IaYL0mVlIA6Lbef1YqNA-2FEJwpgv9ZdNlJkVY5-2BFfTxOQc-2FO83vKt8r-2B3osNRTeN94CHriMnc1sG3Sl9U9auQay9Xrz-2F-2BPt5YfH9f3izWZqNc-2FdVILLQ0-2B3wf4tHTKYk2DrDn4ECXXXjxFKOyUmjg0QlmLaxG-2F-2Fkd3-2BQDNBcOs7Bj-2BofA7ZQQ0nT1zryQwldnWyEmRwyE9zBkQVgY2LGxJZX4QKKmBW1XDDw1AOZ-2B5xSO3ArLEKASu9Llc187i14lr9Slux-2BAu64n4Pvco51rBsT3x16reTx4yBak3WtmqD6bnYSiypawrA-2FGNINgmhqGWCJAJ5CNHGtR45HLCTVJy" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank" rel&equals;"noopener noreferrer" data-auth&equals;"NotApplicable" data-safelink&equals;"true" data-linkindex&equals;"7">A<em>ustralian Youth Barometer<&sol;em><&sol;a><em> <&sol;em>report released by the Centre for Youth Policy and Education Practice &lpar;CYPEP&rpar; since its establishment in 2021 and goes to the heart of issues that matter to young people today&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The report co-authored by Professor Lucas Walsh&comma; Dr Beatriz Gallo Cordoba&comma; Dr Catherine Waite&comma; and Blake Cutler examines the impact of issues such as the economy&comma; work&comma; education&comma; housing&comma; well-being&comma; relationships and participation in society through the eyes of young Australians&period; The report’s findings paint a sombre picture of how young Australians currently feel about their lives and their future&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;While young Australians are resilient&comma; too many are hurting&period; They are experiencing poor mental health and nearly a quarter haven’t been able to access the food they need&period; They’re worried&comma; anxious and pessimistic about the future&period; After years of disruption&comma; nearly half felt as though they missed out on being young&comma;” says lead author Professor Lucas Walsh&period; <&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>In regards to education&comma; the report found that a sense of belonging matters to young Australians&comma; but less than half of the respondents felt like they belonged when they were at their educational institution&period; The types of qualifications young people are choosing is changing&comma; with nearly 60 per cent of respondents reporting that they hold&comma; or have been enrolled in&comma; a micro-credential&comma; micro-degree or micro masters&period; Only 53 per cent of young Australians agree that their education prepared them for the future&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Almost one-quarter rate their mental health as poor or very poor&period; Most respondents&comma; &lpar;85 per cent&rpar; reported feelings of worry&comma; anxiety or pessimism&period; Almost one-half &lpar;45 per cent &rpar; often felt as though they were missing out on being young&period; <&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The report’s co-author&comma; Dr Beatriz Gallo Cordoba&comma; said that young people demand more government intervention across the board during tough times&comma; but particularly when it comes to basic needs such as housing&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;The majority&comma; 61 per cent&comma; of young people identify housing as an area of priority that requires more government support&period; Young people should be consulted in developing and implementing solutions&period;”<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Overall&comma; the report indicates that over half of young Australians feel they will be worse off than their parents in the coming years&period; <&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Financial pressures are also felt unevenly by different communities&period; Gender diverse young people&comma; for example&comma; are far more pessimistic about owning a home&period; These financial challenges require urgent attention&comma;” says co-author&comma; Blake Cutler&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;u26892420&period;ct&period;sendgrid&period;net&sol;ls&sol;click&quest;upn&equals;B8NE7CRkW4hCmh1dHfJbPm8nbOhEEqmp5QCmqH8q-2Bn70NKjGrE-2BRtfxL7IF8FPVCSDY8EwaZfi4V9ecnVUASzA-3D-3Da0GT&lowbar;XvxxD007k0Bl2z7OxVGNETKNnzyr47vkT3ug3GHJOz3IaYL0mVlIA6Lbef1YqNA-2FEJwpgv9ZdNlJkVY5-2BFfTxOQc-2FO83vKt8r-2B3osNRTeN94CHriMnc1sG3Sl9U9auQay9Xrz-2F-2BPt5YfH9f3izWZqNc-2FdVILLQ0-2B3wf4tHTKYk2DrDn4ECXXXjxFKOyUmjg0QlmLaxG-2F-2Fkd3-2BQDNBcOs7D1UVAovjaKtYO6py6mX6GnXkI-2Bxpm2TjTTxlBSNtEWVKeDdpymfMLZsq5jKg7zamsTDucupz-2BP5g97N-2FmVavxcoR1XkqjIoelEFi4I36pB0x2X-2FwHK3KBoA3ALtVKARbKa6B-2FK8Qaj6EXZTSmAG3z1yXLxIF9BwkykBpB4zinY0" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank" rel&equals;"noopener noreferrer" data-auth&equals;"NotApplicable" data-safelink&equals;"true" data-linkindex&equals;"8">The Centre for Youth Policy and Education Practice<&sol;a> is a multi-disciplinary initiative undertaking research into the social&comma; political and economic factors that affect young people’s lives&period; The Centre aims to change the conversation about young people’s futures and how we can work with them&comma; educators and policy makers&comma; to address disadvantages and build thriving communities&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Read the report here&colon; <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;u26892420&period;ct&period;sendgrid&period;net&sol;ls&sol;click&quest;upn&equals;B8NE7CRkW4hCmh1dHfJbPqXuJWHpE60DIwSJE-2FgzmhyYbRTZspip7Bi7CABl-2FTd8ptab4wb2cGDLObcr2yWJU1qc1u8pBOAFSg-2FfhhS3WxYxEjoHzJT9IGNZ6swH2WxVKfkWLY0WwRL9pJgcKBa8dg-3D-3DDPo8&lowbar;XvxxD007k0Bl2z7OxVGNETKNnzyr47vkT3ug3GHJOz3IaYL0mVlIA6Lbef1YqNA-2FEJwpgv9ZdNlJkVY5-2BFfTxOQc-2FO83vKt8r-2B3osNRTeN94CHriMnc1sG3Sl9U9auQay9Xrz-2F-2BPt5YfH9f3izWZqNc-2FdVILLQ0-2B3wf4tHTKYk2DrDn4ECXXXjxFKOyUmjg0QlmLaxG-2F-2Fkd3-2BQDNBcOs7GHpYumePwYDYFXLXkEJResgdCEXu96YIHOdj0Tg-2BjN-2BpyHp10QKE5vCq-2By4dhntCjT-2Bnzwk4YtA-2FWBlmxb4N-2FiDYEhHf-2B-2BBo3jZS-2FYQwpZutejxQuzJ3jM7VNS5-2BRf2JcSOdwvfFF-2BBkBfboqxTNEIcfBuixhUbRadepWucT9hf" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank" rel&equals;"noopener noreferrer" data-auth&equals;"NotApplicable" data-safelink&equals;"true" data-linkindex&equals;"9">The 2022 Australian Youth Barometer<&sol;a><&sol;p>&NewLine;

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