Mental health problems among young Australians linked to vaping, research finds

Australian high school students with symptoms of depression or poor health are twice as likely to have tried vaping, a new study has found.

The study also found that a fifth of 7- and 8-year-old students have moderate to severe depressive symptoms and indicate a need for early intervention to direct health care. mental health and steam, experts said.

More than 5,000 students aged 12 to 14 were surveyed in 2023 for the study as part of the OurFutures Prevention program led by the University of Sydney’s Matilda Institute.

Young people from 40 schools across New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia answered questions about drug and vaping use, future drug use and mental health, including symptoms of depression, anxiety, stress and well-being.

The results, published in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, showed a third of the group reported being healthy, another third had severe depression and half the fifth was very worried.

Students who reported moderate or high levels of stress were 74% or 64% more likely to have tried vaping, respectively, than those who reported low levels of stress, although levels of worry he seemed to have little to do with vape use.

Increasing rates of vaping and mental health have made the close relationship between the two even more concerning, according to University of Sydney associate professor Emily Stockings, co-author of the study.

“If we want to try to improve mental health and we want to prevent vaping, obviously we have to do these two things together,” he said.

The share of students aged 7 to 12 who have been assaulted in the past month has almost quadrupled from 2017 to 2022/23, while two-fifths of Australians aged 16 to 24 have had a mental breakdown last year.

The results showed the importance of early mental health support for young people, according to Michelle Jongenelis, associate professor at the University of Melbourne.

About 8% of students aged 12 to 14 had tried smoking and about 2% had quit in the past month, according to the paper.

These figures rose to around 24% and 13% respectively for the 12 to 15-year-old age group, according to a national survey of Australian secondary school students on alcohol and drugs.

Students in the OurFutures study had an average age of 13, while mental health issues and substance use were found to begin at around age 14.

“It is a critical time for development [when] they just started high school,” Jongenelis said. “We need to do a better job of … supporting them so they don’t turn to vapes to help them with their anxiety or stress or depression.”

Only one in 20 students surveyed went to an academically poor school and the study did not examine public schools, which Stockings said are slightly underperforming.

“We couldn’t get into government schools and maybe [hear from] vulnerable children, high need, or schools with a lot of problems,” Stockings said.

The study added to previous research suggesting a link between nicotine use and mental health issues but did not provide an explanation as the data was collected from one location at a time.

Although the study did not explain the relationship between mental health and vape use, it was the first part of ongoing research in the OurFutures program, with students answering additional surveys after completing training courses. who help understand and avoid vape use.