A social enterprise providing education and information to protect and enhance the mental health of young people
Melanie Woodfield, University of Auckland and Jin Russell, University of Auckland Exam season is fast approaching for many senior students in New Zealand and Australia. At the best of times, adolescents may struggle with ambition and drive, let alone after two-and-a-half years of COVID-induced disruption and uncertainty. But parents can still nurture their teens’ motivation [...]
Emma Whatman, Deakin University and Paul Venzo, Deakin University Parents will be increasingly aware they need to talk about consent with their children. There is no such thing as “too young” to start the conversation. In fact, the earlier the better, when it comes to understanding how to have respect for your body and other [...]
Lucas Walsh, Monash University Australia’s class of 2022 is on the home stretch. Next month, more than 200,000 year 12 students will be sitting their final exams. In amongst this, they are making big decisions about their lives beyond school. But research shows they are not getting the support they need as they finish school [...]
Rachel Williamson-Dean, University of Auckland; Gavin Brown, University of Auckland, and Pat Bullen, University of Auckland The claim last week by National Party leader Christopher Luxon that 100,000 New Zealand schoolchildren were chronically truant quickly turned into an argument about terminology, statistics and how to interpret them. In fact, it appears Luxon was referring to [...]
Joseph Crawford, University of Tasmania; Kelly-Ann Allen, Monash University, and Lea Waters, The University of Melbourne Imagine you have years-worth of research and it is dismissed by a 15-word rejection letter from a journal editor. That has happened to us. Or peer reviewers write demeaning, anonymous commentary about your work. That has also happened to [...]
Jessica Holloway, Australian Catholic University It’s that time of year again when parents and students anxiously await their NAPLAN results. NAPLAN is a nationwide test of literacy and numeracy that all students in years 3, 5, 7 and 9 are expected to take. It doesn’t impact entrance to high school or university, but is a [...]
Simon Van Baal, PhD Candidate, Cognition and Philosophy Lab, Faculty of Arts; Jakob Hohwy, Professor, School of Philosophical, Historical and International Studies; Allen Cheng, Professor of Infectious Diseases Epidemiology The COVID-19 pandemic is still with us, as much as we all were hoping it was all over when the previous waves subsided and restrictions were [...]
Jolanta Burke, RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences For many of us, some personality traits stay the same throughout our lives while others change only gradually. However, evidence shows that significant events in our personal lives which induce severe stress or trauma can be associated with more rapid changes in our personalities. A new [...]
Xinyu (Andy) Zhao, Deakin University and Sarah Healy, The University of Melbourne Screen time was a battle for parents before COVID and it continues to be a battle, long after lockdowns have ended. The Royal Children’s Hospital March 2021 child health poll found too much screen time was parents’ number-one health concern about their kids, [...]
Daniel Hermens, Jim Lagopoulos and Zack Shan, University of the Sunshine Coast Despite the best efforts of clinicians and researchers for decades, we still do not fully know why some people develop mental disorders and others do not. However, changes in the brain are very likely our best clues to future mental health outcomes. The [...]
