A social enterprise providing education and information to protect and enhance the mental health of young people
Severe mental illness is challenging enough for adults to manage. Many spend years seeking treatment before they find something that works. For children, the picture is even grimmer. New research suggests that the rate of suicide and suicidal thoughts among children is skyrocketing. What’s behind this crisis in child mental health? Here are five key [...]
Boys who grow up in hardship are more than four times as at risk of starting puberty aged 10 than those who grow up in safer, wealthier households. And girls who grow up disadvantaged are twice as likely to start puberty early than others. The startling findings, which may help explain why disadvantaged children are [...]
Many people have probably heard the term “positive psychology”, but know little about what it means in practice. Positive psychology aims to find ways to make life better for people, and ensure they’re the most mentally healthy person they can be. Officially established in 1998, positive psychology is a relative new field. It has quickly [...]
When you put a load on a piece of metal you stress it. That’s what the engineers call it. Stress. There’s actually a profession that deals only with understanding how much of a load any material can take. They’re called stress engineers. And these folks know everything about what happens when you exert a lot [...]
Teenagers’ late-night mobile phone use is harming their sleep and potentially their mental health, say researchers who advised that “physical boundaries” be set over use of such devices in the bedroom. A longitudinal study of 1,101 Australian high school students aged between 13 and 16 found poor-quality sleep associated with late-night texting or calling was [...]
Smacking is associated with more aggression, more antisocial behaviour, more mental health and cognitive problems, and poorer relationships with parents, according to the most comprehensive analysis of the research to date. And, it appears that the detrimental effects may also reach into adulthood. 2014 data from UNICEF revealed that around the world, 80 per cent [...]
New research has revealed that apps installed on smartphones can be used to significantly reduce anxiety. Published in the Journal of Affective Disorders, the study is the first ever meta-analysis of all published evidence on the effect of smartphone-based therapies on anxiety in 1,837 people. The research is a collaboration between The University of Manchester, [...]
Four of the five most popular forms of social media harm young people’s mental health, with Instagram the most damaging, according to research by two health organisations. Instagram has the most negative impact on young people’s mental wellbeing, a survey of almost 1,500 14- to 24-year-olds found, and the health groups accused it of deepening [...]
Were you one of the more than 16,000 people who completed ABC's How 'mental health smart' are you? quiz a couple of years back? If so, a team of Melbourne University researchers would like to thank you. Your answers have provided important insights that could help shape future mental health education campaigns. "We certainly have [...]
Schools are not just places where students acquire academic skills, they also help students become more resilient in the face of adversity, feel more connected with the people around them, and aim higher in their aspirations for their future. Not least, schools are the first place where children experience society in all its facets and [...]
