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Aboriginal youth at greater risk of mental health problemsSurvey shows twenty four percent at high risk Australia’s only Aboriginal psychiatrist says that Aboriginal infants, children and adolescents have higher rates of disadvantage than the general community, leading to more emotional and mental health problems. Dr Helen Milroy, a descendant of the Palyku people of the Pilbara region of Western Australia, is a child psychiatrist and the first Aboriginal to qualify in medicine. She is a passionate advocate for children having healthier lives and was involved in writing and analysing a landmark report on Aboriginal child health in Western Australia. The WA survey found 24 percent of Aboriginal children aged 4-17 were found to be at high risk of clinicallysignificant emotional or behavioural difficulties, compared with 15 percent in the non-Aboriginal population. There was a clear link between family and household factors and risk of clinically significant emotional or behavioural difficulties. The strongest link was where there had been a large number of high-stress events, such as illness, family break-up, arrests or financial difficulties. More than one in five children lived in families where there had been seven or more high stress events in the preceding 12 months. Many families functioned poorly, one third of children were in the care of a sole parent. About 12 percent of children were being looked after by a parent who had been forcibly removed from their natural family. Dr Milroy is available for interview to discuss the situation on the ground, and what can be done to improve the lives of indigenous children.
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