Rigid notions of manhood are stopping young men from seeking help for mental ill-health, and current systems are failing to provide support that meets their needs.
To address this gap, Orygen has released a new report and 11-point policy plan, Real talk: masculinity and young men’s mental health.
The plan sets out practical steps to improve mental health outcomes for young men, including updating the National Men’s Health Strategy, building the capacity of health professionals, and investing in new opportunities for social connection.
The report also calls for stronger regulation of harmful online content, alongside education to help young men critically assess the information they encounter in digital spaces.
Report author, Orygen policy analyst Ashleigh Bulluss, said that young men face unique barriers when accessing mental health support services, and the new report details an 11-point policy plan to address these specific challenges.
“Our policy solutions are aimed at understanding how we can develop services that better suit young men's needs, and how we can address young men's engagement with online spaces – where many currently look for support – and meet them there with positive, constructive guidance,” Bulluss said.
“Recommendations include more investment in content moderation and better education to empower young men to critically assess the content they encounter online.”
The report also calls for more research into the interplay between masculine identities and mental health, specific policies to build the capacity of health professionals, and more opportunities for young men to build social connections.
The report also includes new data from a YouGov survey of 800 young men aged 16-25, of whom two thirds (67 per cent) said social expectations of men were harmful to their mental health, while four in five (81 per cent) said these expectations made it harder for men to seek help.
The survey also found that 76 per cent of young men felt mental health outcomes could improve if supports were more tailored to them, while 90 per cent felt more needed to be done to attract men to work in mental health services supporting young men.
Orygen’s 11-point policy plan:
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Update the National Men’s Health Strategy to better support young men
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Leverage environments where young men already are to promote positive messaging on masculinity and mental health
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Increase investment into regulation and content moderation of social media platforms
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Empower young men to critically assess the content they encounter online
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Invest in social connection opportunities for young men
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Build the capacity of health professionals to support young men
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Partner to improve engagement and positive connection with the health system
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Consideration for digital mental health support for young men in the National Early Intervention Service
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Improve understanding of diverse masculine norms and the mental health of young men
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Increase knowledge about the impact of online content on young men’s mental health
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Consolidate knowledge on young men’s mental health
READ ON: explore the full report here