Adolescents’ Suicidal Thinking and Reluctance to Consult General Medical Practitioners

Appropriate help-seeking is widely recognized as a protective factor, and vital for early treatment and prevention of mental health problems during adolescence. General medical practitioners (GPs), that is, family doctors, provide a vital role in the identification of adolescents with mental health problems and the provision of treatment as well as access to other specialists in mental health care services. The current study examined the association between suicidal ideation and intentions to seek help from a GP for suicidal thoughts, emotional problems and physical health problems, using a sample of 590 Australian high school students that was 56.7% female and aged 13–18 years (M = 15.56 years, SD = .66 years). Higher levels of suicidal ideation and general psychological distress were related to lower intentions to seek help from a GP for suicidal and physical problems. The results suggest that even at subclinical levels, increases in suicidal ideation or psychological distress may lead to help avoidance. School personnel and other gatekeepers need to be aware of this trend in order to be more assertive in encouraging and supporting appropriate help-seeking for mental health problems. School health promotion programs should consider including information to explicitly address the help-negation process.     

Help-Negation and Suicidal Ideation: The Role of Depression,Anxiety and Hopelessness

Help-negation is expressed behaviorally by the refusal or avoidance of available help and cognitively by the inverse relationship between self-reported symptoms of psychological distress and help-seeking intentions. The current study examined the association between suicidal ideation and intentions to seek help from friends, family and professional mental health sources in a sample of 302 Australian university students. Participants were 77.5% female and aged from 18–25 years old, with 85.4% aged 21 years or younger. Higher levels of suicidal ideation were related to lower help-seeking intentions for family, friends, and professional mental health care, and higher intentions to seek help from no one. Moderation effects indicated that higher levels of depressive symptoms strengthen the help-negating effect of suicidal ideation for seeking help from friends, family and no one. The results indicate that, even at subclinical levels, suicidal ideation impedes the cognitive help-seeking process at the decision making stage. The results also highlight the importance of improving our understanding of why young people become reluctant to seek help as their levels of suicidal ideation and depressive symptoms increase. Raising awareness that the experience of suicidal ideation and depressive symptoms can promote intentions to avoid help might reduce the help-negation effect when symptoms are first recognized.     

Inquiry into Local Government Responsibilities and Funding

On 30 May 2002 I announced a major inquiry into local government. The inquiry is to be conducted by the multi–party House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics, Finance and Public Administration. In this article I look at the background to the inquiry and at some of the things I hope it will achieve.