Bridget Spicer

How do Australian news media depict illicit drug issues? An analysis of print media reporting across and between illicit drugs, 2003-2008.

BACKGROUND Media reporting on illicit issues has been frequently criticised for being sensationalised, biased and narrow. Yet, there have been few broad and systematic analyses of the nature of reporting. Using a large sample and methods commonly adopted in media communications analysis this paper sought to identify the dominant media portrayals used to denote illicit drugs in Australian newspapers and to compare and contrast portrayals across drug types. METHODS A retrospective content analysis of Australian print media was carried out over the period 2003-2008 from a sample comprised of 11 newspapers. Articles that contained one or more mention of five different drugs (or derivatives) were identified: cannabis, amphetamines, ecstasy, cocaine and heroin. A sub-sample of 4397 articles was selected for media content analysis (with 2045 selected for full content analysis) and a large number of text elements coded for each. Key elements included topic, explicit or implicit messages about the consequences of drugs/use and three value dimensions: overall tone, whether drugs were portrayed as a crisis issue and moral evaluations of drugs/use. RESULTS The dominant media portrayals depicted law enforcement or criminal justice action (55%), but most articles were reported in a neutral manner, in the absence of crisis framings. Portrayals differed between drugs, with some containing more narrow frames and more explicit moral evaluations than others. For example, heroin was disproportionately framed as a drug that will lead to legal problems. In contrast, ecstasy and cocaine were much more likely to emphasise health and social problems. CONCLUSION Media reporting on illicit drugs is heavily distorted towards crime and deviance framings, but may be less overtly sensationalised, biased and narrowly framed than previously suggested. This is not to suggest there is no sensationalism or imbalance, but this appears more associated with particular drug types and episodes of heightened public concern.

Mental illness and housing outcomes among a sample of homeless men in an Australian urban centre

Objective: The over-representation of mental illness among homeless people across the globe is well documented. However, there is a dearth of Australian literature on the mental health needs of homeless individuals. Furthermore, longitudinal research examining the factors that contribute to better housing outcomes among this population is sparse. The aim of this research is to describe the mental illness profile of a sample of homeless men in an Australian urban centre (in Sydney) and examine the factors associated with better housing outcomes at 12-month follow-up. Methods: A longitudinal survey was administered to 253 homeless men who were involved in the Michael Project: a 3-year initiative which combined existing accommodation support services with assertive case management and access to coordinated additional specialist allied health and support services. A total of 107 participants were followed up 12 months later. The survey examined the demographics of the sample and lifetime mental disorder diagnoses, and also included psychological screeners for current substance use and dependence, psychological distress, psychosis, and post-traumatic stress. Results: Consistent with existing literature, the prevalence of mental illness was significantly greater amongst this sample than the general Australian population. However, mental illness presentation was not associated with housing situation at 12-month follow-up. Instead, type of support service at baseline was the best predictor of housing outcome, wherein participants who received short to medium-term accommodation and support were significantly more likely to be housed in stable, long-term housing at the 12-month follow-up than participants who received outreach or emergency accommodation support. Conclusions: This study provides evidence to support an innovative support model for homeless people in Australia and contributes to the limited Australian research on mental illness in this population.

News media consumption among young Australians: Patterns of use and attitudes towards media reporting

Research suggests youth make active choices about how they use and respond to media. Yet publicly available information outlining patterns of youth media consumption and how content is perceived – especially in relation to reporting of issues of pertinence to youth – is limited. Using an online survey of 2296 Australians aged 16–24, we measured news media consumption and perceptions of reporting on illicit drugs. The study concluded that Australian youth are not ‘deserting’ news media; indeed, they have regular contact with news media. However, youth regard mainstream news as lacking credibility.

What drives the high health care costs of the homeless

Abstract Existing research demonstrates that mean health care costs incurred by those experiencing homelessness are high. However, high mean health care costs mask the fact that a sizeable number of people experiencing homelessness incur low costs and that very high costs are driven by a minority of the homeless population. This paper examines health care costs estimated from two Australian surveys of those experiencing homelessness undertaken by the authors. It demonstrates three important findings. First, higher health care costs are most strongly associated with diagnosed mental health disorders, followed by long-term physical health conditions. Second, having a current drug or alcohol dependency, but no diagnosed mental health disorder or long-term physical health issue, is not associated with higher level health care costs. Finally, higher health care costs are incurred by those with long periods of rough sleeping. The findings of this research provide a significant economic argument for government intervention to break the cycle of homelessness as they reveal significant potential savings to effective interventions for homeless people with diagnosed mental health disorders and long-term rough sleeping.