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Risk and protective factors for mental health at a youth mass gathering

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Abstract

Background

Mass gatherings are well-documented for their public health risks; however, little research has examined their impact on mental health or focused on young people specifically. This study explores risk and protective factors for mental health at mass gatherings, with a particular focus on characterising attendees with high levels of psychological distress and risk taking.

Method

Data collection was conducted in situ at “Schoolies”, an annual informal week-long mass gathering of approximately 30,000 Australian school leavers. Participants were 812 attendees of Schoolies on the Gold Coast in 2015 or 2016 (74% aged 17 years old).

Results

In both years, attendee mental health was found to be significantly better than population norms for their age peers. Identification with the mass gathering predicted better mental health, and this relationship became stronger across the course of the mass gathering. Attendees with high levels of psychological distress were more likely to be male, socially isolated, impulsive, and in a friendship group where risk taking was normative.

Conclusions

Mass gatherings may have a net benefit for attendee mental health, especially for those attendees who are subjectively committed to the event. However, a vulnerable subgroup of attendees requires targeted mental health support.

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Acknowledgements

This Project was funded by the Australian Research Council (DE160100592) and the Safer Schoolies Initiative, Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services, Queensland Government. We wish to thank Melissa Chang, Tom Curro, Joanne Rathbone, Harrison Lee, Andrew Morgan, Alicia Federico, Anna Rogash, Jenna Laroque, Josh Santin, Nick Wheeler, Petra Harman-Schufft, Sienna Hinton, Taylor Alati, and Zoe Weller for their assistance with data collection and entry.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Psychology, University of Queensland, St Lucia, 4072, Australia

    Tegan Cruwys, Alexander K. Saeri, Charlie R. Crimston & Laura J. Ferris

  2. Institute for Psychology, University of Osnabrück, Osnabrück, Germany

    Helena R. M. Radke

  3. Institute for Social Science Research, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Australia

    Zoe C. Walter

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  1. Tegan Cruwys
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Correspondence to Laura J. Ferris.

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Cruwys, T., Saeri, A.K., Radke, H.R.M. et al. Risk and protective factors for mental health at a youth mass gathering. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry 28, 211–222 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-018-1163-7

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