A social enterprise providing education and information to protect and enhance the mental health of young people
Drug Policy Modelling Program (DPMP) The Drug Policy Modelling Program (DPMP) is run out of the Faculty of Medicine, University of NSW in Sydney. The aim of DPMP is to create valuable new drug policy insights, ideas and interventions that will allow Australia to successfully respond to illicit drug use. The unit itself conducts multiple [...]
UK expert Reg Bailey, chief executive of The Mothers' Union charity, has warned that many young people think that adultery is acceptable and that marriages are not meant to last. Bailey, who is preparing a report for the UK Department of Education, feels that many celebrities and sports personalities are influencing the way adolescents view [...]
An article recently published in the British Psychological Society Am I too fat to be a princess? Examining the effects of popular children's media on young girls' body image looks at the effect exposure to appearance-related media has on young girls and how they see their body image. 121 girls participated between the ages of [...]
Girls as young as seven battle anxiety and depression from being inundated with body-focused products Everywhere you look it seems that children’s toys and clothing are branded and gender based. For girls it is Barbie, Disney princesses and pink. Boys are inundated with Bob the Builder, Ben 10 and Thomas. Cordelia Fine, PhD Honorary Research Fellow [...]
Adolescence is a time of change and it can be hard to tell the difference between "normal" teenage behaviour, and depression and anxiety. One in six young people in Australia has an anxiety disorder and around one in 16 has depression, so the chances are we all know someone who has been affected by these [...]
Shorter attention spans The need for Sensationalism Inability to empathise with others Poor sense of identity Young people who spend hours in the world of virtual relationships are at a greater risk of psychological damage according to leading UK neuroscientist, Lady Greenfield, professor of synaptic pharmacology at Lincoln College Oxford. She is urging the UK [...]
Alarm bells have gone off in the USA as the FBI sees a potential misuse for the new Barbie Video Girl doll. The doll has an inbuilt video camera hidden in the necklace worn around her neck, which allows video to be shot from ’Barbie’s perspective’. The doll, which sells for US$49.99 also comes with [...]
The message is loud and clear; the safest option for pregnant women is not to drink. This is the finding of leading Australian health experts, despite earlier research suggesting that moderate drinking may not cause harm to a foetus. The following organisations have joined together to make sure this message is heard by the greater community: The [...]
The Queensland Police force has put together some tips on what to look out for if you think your child or a young person you know has been approached by an online predator. You find pornography on your child’s computer. Child sex offenders sometimes use pornography as a way of opening sexual discussion. It may [...]
A study Time or Money: the impact of parental employment on time that four to five-year-olds spend in language-building activities, published in the Australian Journal of Labour Economics looks at how a father’s working hours impacts on family life and how this effects the time spent talking, reading and singing to children. The study noted [...]
