Young males are contacting the Kids Helpline far less often than young females and in declining numbers, new research shows.
The Kids Helpline Insights Report 2018 revealed last year that only one in five contacts (21 per cent) the service received were from males, while almost four in five (77 per cent) were from females.
Additionally, overall contact from males has decreased from about one-third to one-fifth of all contacts since 2007.
Kids Helpline virtual services manager Tony FitzGerald said the statistics are worrying.
“We as a society need to emphasise that reaching out for help should be viewed as a sign of strength, and never a weakness,” he said.
“It is also really important for parents, and particularly fathers, to role-model help-seeking behaviour - young people learn their behaviours from what they observe their parents doing.”
Kids Helpline introduced new category for young intersex, transgender and non-binary Australians in 2015.
Around two per cent of contacts in 2018 were from people identifying with this third gender category.
Kids Helpline is a 24/7 online and phone counselling service for Australians aged five to 25.
Source: Kids Helpline
Indicative of a wider trend
Nick Duigan, the senior clinical advisor at youth mental health service headspace, said the results are symbolic of the wider reluctance among men to seek help if they need it.
It is important parents or other members of the community don't tell young boys to "toughen up" when they encounter difficulty, he said.
"Those really subtle messages leave young boys with the idea that what it is to be a boy is to be strong, to be tough and not show signs of struggle," he said.
“It means they miss out on developing the language, the insight, the capacity to reflect on what’s going on for them, but more crucially, it means the gender stereotypes and cultural norms continue to be imposed."
Mr Duigan said that can mean when young men encounter difficulties in adolescence or later in life they have not had much practice reflecting inward - and that can led to them harming themselves or others.
"Young men are actually not too bad at recognising early warning signs and symptoms of mental health in other people - but they are not so good at recognising them when they are happening in themselves,” he said. “It is that capacity for self-reflection that is missing," he said.
“The way that inner struggle can be expressed later in life is through anger and violence, or risk-taking behaviour such as drinking to excess or risky sexual behaviour."
The Kids Helpline Insights Report 2018 shows only one in five contacts the service received last year were from males, while almost four in five were from females. Source: Kids Helpline
CALD and Indigenous contacts lower
The Kids Helpline Insights Report 2018 also detailed contact made to the service by young Australians from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds.
In instances where people disclosed cultural background information, 37 per cent of all contacts were made by people from CALD backgrounds last year.
Just four percent of contacts who disclosed their cultural background were of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent.
While Kids Helpline is more accessible than other counselling services due it its existence as a phone and internet service, there are a range of other barriers stopping young people of CALD and Indigenous backgrounds connecting with the service, according to counsellor Amanda Greham.
Source: Kids Helpline
"A young person’s familial or cultural attitudes to help-seeking or talking to someone they don’t know, even on web chat or email, is a a big one,” said Ms Greham, who has been a Kids Helpline counsellor since 2011.
“Wider trust issues, and of course, language barriers, can also be a problem. We can provide translators, but some people might not be aware that is something we can do.”
Kids Helpline estimates around 375 contacts go unanswered each day and that a young Australian attempted to contact it every 110 seconds during 2018.
Amanda Greham has been a Kids Helpline counsellor since 2011. Source: Supplied
The cost of its operation has also doubled in 14 years from $5.5 million in 2004 to $11.3 million last year, according to the service.
Tony FitzGerald said Kids Helpline wants to better support young people from diverse backgrounds, but it wants more funds.
“We really need to look at increasing the number of counsellors we have got available so we can answer more calls - because a lot of those unanswered calls may be from young people from those backgrounds who are trying get through to help."
Kids Helpline is funded by a combination of donations, government schemes and corporate partnerships.
Those seeking support can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636. People aged between five and 25 can also contact Kids Helpline at kidshelpline.com.au or on 1800 55 1800.
