Concerns for the mental health of Wagga's Aboriginal youth

New statistics released by the Riverina Medical and Dental Aboriginal Corporation have shown that Aboriginal children living in Wagga are almost twice as likely to have emotional or behavioural problems, compared to other young people in NSW.

The Study of Environment, Aboriginal Resilience and Child Health, or SEARCH, completed in partnership with the Sax Institute, found that 26% of local Aboriginal children participating in the study were at high risk of emotional or behavioural problems, compared to 15% of other children.

They’re also many times more likely to use tertiary hospital mental health care than the national average, and had the highest rates of hospital use of mental health care, of any of the other four study sites.