Australian children more likely to associate alcohol and drugs with parental harm

Australian children who responded to a survey said alcohol and drug abuse were reasons adults would harm them.

The survey found almost 27% of around 19,000 Australians aged 15-19 felt alcohol and drugs were the top national concern. Source: AAP

A survey of Australian children has identified alcohol, drugs, walking alone and the internet as causes for many to feel unsafe.

Australian children who participated in ChildFund's global survey were concerned about adults' alcohol and drug use, which is in contrast to children around the world, the results show.

"Only 4 per cent of respondents [all countries] blamed alcohol [and other drugs] for adults’ abuse, with less than half of the participating countries identifying this as an issue in the survey," the survey report said.

"However, 70 per cent of children surveyed in Australia responded with this answer, followed by Ireland at 25 per cent."

The survey participants included 231 Australian respondents between 10 and 12 years old, who were asked to rank arange of issues and give open-ended answers.

Children were asked: "Why do you think adults mistreat children", and were able to pick as many as they wanted.

The main reported concern was alcohol and drug use, the survey results said.

However, the response rate across all countries surveyed for that question was much lower.

Another question asked Australian children, ‘Where do you think girls or boys may be at risk from harm, such as being physically or emotionally abused or mistreated?’

Online and walking alone emerged as the major concerns to that question for the Australian children who participated in the survey.

Respondents from all the countries surveyed, including many developed countries, also said walking alone was a risk, but much fewer said the online environment could potentially be a source of harm.

The Australian survey respondents were mainly based in NSW, Victoria and Queensland.