Sabra Lane: Could a large proportion of mental illness be prevented in Australia? Newly published research says nearly half of all common mental health problems like anxiety, depression and substance abuse can be traced back to childhood abuse and neglect. It's prompted calls for a new era of preventative policies. Alison Branley from the specialist reporting team has the story and a warning it contains some distressing content.
Alison Branley : Angela McCauley was 11 years old when the ABC first met her and her mother Nicola for a Four Corners story on vulnerable families in 1996.
Nicola Mcauley: It's been really hard over time.
Alison Branley : But even then the little girl had a secret. She'd been sexually abused by her stepfather at age six. He was later convicted.
Nicola Mcauley: I've carried all these big burdens that weren't even mine.
Alison Branley : The trauma triggered three decades of mental health problems, substance abuse and self harm as a teen through to postnatal depression.
Nicola Mcauley: Flashbacks, they can come in at the most inappropriate times. And then you're back in that moment and then you're trying to struggle, you know, like you feel guilt and shame.
Alison Branley : A University of Sydney study has now established a direct link between childhood abuse and neglect and the mental health crisis. The study of more than 15,000 Australians found child maltreatment accounted for 41% of suicide attempts, 35% of self harm cases and 21% of those with depression. Lead researcher Dr Lucy Gromit says the findings should be treated as a national health priority.
Dr Lucy Grummitt : These results tell us just how many people are suffering from mental health conditions that are potentially preventable.
Alison Branley : Her team is proposing a kind of immunisation schedule for mental health to help identify and deal with abuse and neglect early.
Dr Lucy Grummitt : We know there are effective home visitation programs and parent education programs that provide support to parents who may be struggling and have shown to reduce rates of child abuse and neglect down the track. Improving access to childcare, expanding paid parental leave, increasing the minimum wage, improving housing affordability. They have empirical evidence that they can reduce rates of child abuse and neglect.
Alison Branley : Mental health charity Prevention United is advocating for more funding to stop mental health problems emerging and have backed the findings. Chief Executive Stephen Carbone says it's estimated that less than 1% of the mental health budget goes to prevention.
Stephen Carbone : In fact there's been a big steady increase in per capita funding for mental health over the last 30 years but that hasn't translated into reductions in the rate or the prevalence and in fact amongst young people it's gone up phenomenally.
Alison Branley : He says Australia's child protection system is too geared towards reacting to problems after they emerge rather than better supporting at risk families.
Stephen Carbone : It's a mix of programs and social policies that we know can help to reduce the rates of child maltreatment in Australia. We're just not really implementing those programs as well as we should be.
Sabra Lane: Stephen Carbone from the Prevention United ending Alison Branley's report.
