JourneyOnline
Australian men were significantly more likely to have problems with drugs, alcohol and violence. They make up 90 per cent of prison populations and account for almost 80 per cent of suicides.
University of NSW Associate Professor Judy Proudfoot said Aussie men are doing it tough.
“While we know a lot about what is going wrong, we don’t know much about what is going right,” Prof Proudfoot said.
“The truth is we really don’t have a lot of understanding about how men cope with crises and prevent depression and suicide.
The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare’s 2010 report A snapshot of men’s health in regional and remote Australia claimed men living outside Major cities were 28% more likely to have a substance use disorder at some point in their life (lifetime disorder)
One of the report’s authors, Sally Bullock, said men living outside major cities were also more likely to have health risk factors such as daily smoking and risky or high risk alcohol use.
With one in five Australians affected by mental illness every year – one of the most common being depression – Black Dog Institute is dedicated to improving the lives of people affected by mood disorders through research and education programs.
In Faces in the Street, St Vincents Hospital and Mensheds Australia, the Black Dog Institute and University of NSW has launched a “Doing What Comes Naturally: what do you do when things get tough?” online survey, which it wants Australian men over 18 to complete as part of a Men’s Health Study.
“We have launched the Men’s Health Study to learn how Aussie men effectively cope with the bad things in life, like work stress or relationship breakdowns,” Prof Proudfoot said.
