From Karrawingi the emu to Care factor zero. Mental health issues in contemporary Australian adolescent literature

Objective: To examine the depiction of mental health issues in contemporary Australian adolescent literature. This material might influence teenagers' understanding of mental illness and their willingness to seek help, and ma y provide insights into societal attitudes towards adolescents and the psyc hiatric problems encountered in this age group. Design: Systematic examination of a sample of 94 books, the "Notable Texts" in the "Older Child" category of the Children's Book Council of Australia Awards for the years 1996, 1997 and 1998. Main outcome measures: Number of works referring to psychiatry; characters who experienced trauma, loss, psychiatric symptoms, qualified for a psychia tric diagnosis, exhibited suicidal behaviour or sought help; and the nature of treatments given. Results: There was reference to psychiatry in over two-thirds of the works. In these books the image of psychiatry was generally negative or mixed. Mo st adolescent characters suffered major losses. Two-fifths of characters me t criteria for a psychiatric diagnosis. The outcome for characters who sati sfied criteria for a psychiatric diagnosis was more negative than those wit hout. Of the 10 characters in the sample who committed suicide, eight had a psychiatric disorder. Conclusions: Psychiatric themes are a major component of the Australian tee nage novel. Young people in contemporary Australian teenage literature are beset with trauma, loss and psychiatric disorders. Even when help is obtain ed, the outcome is seldom positive. This nihilistic view may increase hopel essness and pose a barrier for teenagers seeking help.