A social enterprise providing education and information to protect and enhance the mental health of young people
As the Fairfax media reports that more parents than ever were withdrawing their kids from the annual NAPLAN tests I wonder if these tests are even assessing the right things in school. Now I realize the importance of literacy and numeracy – of course I do. But, these tests only measure outcomes. [...]
It seems that for many young people a good night out on the town now a days consists of a cocktail of too much alcohol, added to a dash of caffeinated energy drink and mixed with some kind of violent altercation. More than 3,500 Australians are hospitalised each year with brain injuries caused by assaults, [...]
For some time, people have known that using cannabis during adolescence increases the risk of developing cognitive impairment and mental illness (e.g. depression, anxiety or schizophrenia) later in life. Importantly however, the mechanisms responsible for this vulnerability are not well understood. A new study, published in Brain, shows that long-term cannabis use that starts during [...]
The incidence of depression has skyrocketed in children and adults since World War II; depression affects about 10 percent of the population in the United States, and the World Health Organization predicts that by 2030, more people will suffer from depression than any other medical condition. Antidepressant medication use has also increased (to the tune [...]
DANGEROUS new psychoactive drugs are emerging in Australia at a breathtaking rate, say experts conducting groundbreaking research into online drug sales. The drugs can be toxic to the brain and are often untested on humans, and unsuspecting users are buying them without knowing what they contain or what effect they will have. About four new [...]
48% of women have experienced physical violence 34% of women have experienced sexual violence* 14% of young women aged 12 to 20 have experienced rape or sexual assault** Join over 60,00 Australians, including many celebrities like Rove, Keith Urban and Andrew O’Keefe and take an oath to end violence against women. It is important to [...]
In a paper delivered to the Right to Childhood conference in Sydney recently, Professor Mike Daube made the case for suing the industry, making it pay for the human damage. ‘‘There is massive evidence on the impacts of alcohol on our community. It is a health problem, a social problem, an economic problem, a law [...]
Over 80% of adolescents have used alcohol by the time they are 14 years of age.* The National Health and Medical Research Council recommends that young people under the age of 15 do not drink any alcohol at all, and that until the age of 18 years the consumption of alcohol should be delayed as [...]
