Mental Health & Wellbeing

In addressing the critical concern of mental health in adolescents, the role of school belonging has emerged as a focal point of contemporary research. Despite the increasing recognition of its importance, a comprehensive understanding of how school belonging impacts long-term mental wellbeing has remained elusive. Our new study investigating school belonging and mental health outcomes [...]

Joshua Trigg, Flinders University; Anthony Venning, Flinders University, and Lavender Otieno, Flinders University Vaping is in your news feed for its regulation, impact on public health and effects on young people. So with growing awareness of the effects of vaping on health plus recent reforms to limit availability of vapes to pharmacies in Australia, [...]

Ben Singh, University of South Australia and Grace McKeon, UNSW Sydney The mental health benefits of exercise for adults are well known, easing depression and reducing anxiety. Now, emerging research highlights its rising importance for children’s wellbeing. Staying active could be key to safeguarding and enhancing young people’s mental health. Mood-boosting benefits One in seven [...]

Jacob Crouse, University of Sydney; Emiliana Tonini, University of Sydney, and Ian Hickie, University of Sydney This is the next article in our ‘Light and health’ series, where we look at how light affects our physical and mental health in sometimes surprising ways. Read other articles in the series. It’s spring and you’ve probably noticed [...]

Susan Hazel, University of Adelaide Cats have lived with humans for thousands of years. And long before cat memes and viral TikToks took over the internet, they’ve been comforting us with their purrs and making us laugh with their weird antics. But what does the research say – are cats good for us? Living with [...]