A social enterprise providing education and information to protect and enhance the mental health of young people
Scientists describe how new research has changed our understanding of adolescence which was thought to start with the physical changes to the body around puberty and to be completed when growth stopped in the late teens. Now researchers believe the brain goes on maturing and is not fully developed until at least the age of [...]
At any age friends play an integral part in people’s lives. For young people the forging of friendships is important for their social and mental development. However the process of making and keeping friends is not always easy. Children who feel they do not have friends may become withdrawn, exhibit antisocial behaviour and even become [...]
Why do some teenagers start smoking or experimenting with drugs-while others don't? In the largest imaging study of the human brain ever conducted-involving 1,896 14-year-olds-scientists have discovered a number of previously unknown networks that go a long way toward an answer. Robert Whelan and Hugh Garavan of the University of Vermont, along with a large [...]
While there appeared to be a more ‘retouch free zones’ in this issue of Dolly (you may recall I said I’d like to see more of these), there also seemed to be even less body diversity. I couldn’t see one girl who didn’t fit the mould. Dolly has so many pages of fashion and shopping [...]
Every year NAPLAN tests come under the microscope and last year the media was awash with allegations of teachers cheating, parents refusing to allow their kids to take the test, and principals selecting new enrolments based on NAPLAN scores. With stories like this it’s not surprising that anyone who wanted to condemn NAPLAN got their obligatory 3 minute [...]
The Center for Eating Disorders at Sheppard Pratt found half of Facebook users surveyed reported being more conscious of their weight and bodies after viewing Facebook photos, and one-third said they were sad after looking at photos, sparking concern the site may foster unhealthy body images."Facebook is making it easier for people to spend more [...]
Researchers from the University of Auckland in New Zealand just published promising results of a study comparing a video game they designed to help treat depression in teenage kids against traditional face-to-face counseling. Called SPARX, the game guides the players through a number of challenges that help practice handling various life situations and emotions that [...]
You can take comfort from the fact that there is now academic underpinning for the effect known commonly as "beer goggles". In scientific terms, even a little alcohol reduces the ability to assess facial symmetry, which plays a key role in attractiveness and human mate selection.The effect is particularly pronounced in women, with female drinkers [...]
A chemical messenger called oxytocin accounts for why some people give freely of themselves and others are coldhearted louts, why some people cheat and steal and others you can trust with your life, why some husbands are more faithful than others, and why women tend to be nicer and more generous than men. In our blood [...]
