About one in four young Victorians have a mental illness at any given time, according to Professor Patrick McGorry, the executive director of Orygen Youth Health, a youth mental health clinic.

* About one in four young Victorians have a mental illness at any given time, according to Professor Patrick McGorry, the executive director of Orygen Youth Health, a youth mental health clinic. Professor McGorry said that young people aged between 15 and 25 are susceptible to mental illness, with late adolescence and early adulthood a peak time for diagnosis. A draft report produced by Orygen says that 27% of young adults in Victoria have one or more mental disorders, the rate for young adults being almost double that for children.

Since 22% of the state's population are in the 15-25 age range, Professor McGorry said the trend was worrying. The increase in juvenile crime, alcohol and illicit drug use, and the increase in depressive disorders and a sharp increase in suicidal and self-harming behaviours, were all factors in mental illness. The draft report also said that not only were child psychiatry services under-resourced, but mental health services for older adolescents and young adults either did not exist or were in very early stages of development (Sunday Age, 7/9/03, p.15).