Generation Next Blog

March 2014

Researchers warn of chemical impacts on children

By |2014-03-09T21:54:12+11:00March 4th, 2014|Categories: Mental Health & Wellbeing, Science & Research, Society & Culture|Tags: , , , , , , , |

Everyday chemicals are damaging the brains of unborn and young children, leading to conditions like autism, ADHD, dyslexia and lost IQ points, according to two prominent doctors. In an article published Friday in the journal Lancet Neurology, the two argue that chemicals should be better tested before being allowed on the market, and called for [...]

Research finds health benefits from free play

By |2014-03-09T21:58:19+11:00March 3rd, 2014|Categories: Society & Culture|Tags: , , , , , , , |

Cheap items like crates and buckets encourage children to be more active and creative than expensive play equipment, researchers have found. The findings are the result of a long-term study by RMIT University researchers in Melbourne, Australia, into the play differences of primary school children with access to different playgrounds. Introducing simple, everyday objects during [...]

Dark is beautiful

By |2014-03-03T14:52:30+11:00March 2nd, 2014|Categories: Society & Culture|Tags: , , , , , , , |

            The new Dark is Beautiful campaign in India supported by Bollywood actress Nandita Das, aims to challenge this view and stem the desi craze for whitening creams fed by the notion that success and beauty is synonymous with fairness. In India the preference is not only skin-deep but involves [...]

A quarter of parents unable to pay for their child’s school uniform

By |2014-03-03T14:57:16+11:00March 2nd, 2014|Categories: Society & Culture|Tags: , , , , , |

According to charity Citizens Advice, just a fifth of Britain's parents earn enough to absorb the cost of paying for new school uniforms. - Information Daily Staff Writer via A quarter of parents unable to pay for their child's school uniform - The Information Daily.com.

Is Sugar Turning the Economy Sour?

By |2014-03-03T15:05:15+11:00March 2nd, 2014|Categories: Mental Health & Wellbeing|Tags: , , , , , |

Sugar may be sweet, but excess consumption leaves a bitter aftertaste. Millions of people worldwide are affected by type II diabetes or obesity, costing the global healthcare system billions of dollars every year. - Cushia Sherlock via Is Sugar Turning the Economy Sour? - Global Trends - Credit Suisse.

Is The Biggest Loser preying on disadvantaged communities?

By |2014-03-03T15:13:18+11:00March 2nd, 2014|Categories: Society & Culture, Technology|Tags: , , , , , , , |

The Biggest Loser machine screeched into the regional Victorian town of Ararat last night, and we all got to gorge on the usual clichés. Fat people stuffing their faces with junk food. Fat people crying. Fat people talking about how they are unlovable and unworthy. The Biggest Loser PR team would have us believe that their community-wide [...]

Should And Will The Drinking Age Ever Be Raised To 21?

By |2014-03-02T23:44:11+11:00March 2nd, 2014|Categories: Drugs & Alcohol|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , |

Paul Dillon Drug and Alcohol Research and Training Australia (DARTA) With the discussion around alcohol-related violence reaching a fever-pitch over the Christmas/New Year period it was not surprising to once again see the issue of raising the legal drinking age brought up once again. Over the years that I have been working in the alcohol [...]

More On Positive Psychology

By |2014-03-02T23:47:53+11:00March 2nd, 2014|Categories: Mental Health & Wellbeing|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , |

I’ve never received such a response to a Generation Next article like the one I received to last week’s column, 3 Common Myths About Positive Psychology.   I was overwhelmed by the amount of emails I got, the majority of which were saying, “I’ve heard of positive psychology, but where can I find out more?” So [...]

Feeling Down: When Does A Mood Become A Disorder?

By |2014-03-04T00:56:53+11:00March 2nd, 2014|Categories: Mental Health & Wellbeing|Tags: , , , , |

We’ve all felt sad, anxious or down at one time or another, but where does the normal experience of emotion end and the clinical picture of a mood or anxiety disorder begin? Psychiatry has two widely used classificatory systems that provide definitions of “clinical” states of such emotions as differentiated from “normal” states – the World [...]

February 2014

Research links risky behaviors of gambling and sex

By |2014-03-04T01:00:51+11:00February 27th, 2014|Categories: Mental Health & Wellbeing, Society & Culture|Tags: , , , , , , , , , |

Late adolescence is a period when many youth become involved in high-risk behaviors with adverse consequences. Researchers at the Mailman School of Public Health with colleagues at Johns Hopkins University studied the degree to which two such behaviors, adolescent sexual behaviors and gambling, affected African American youth in nine primary schools in Baltimore, MD. In [...]

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