A social enterprise providing education and information to protect and enhance the mental health of young people
E-cigarettes and vaping is considered to be a harmless version of the real thing with many manufacturers selling them to the youth. There are candy and a host of other flavoured e-cigarettes that are being sold to the youth. A new study from the University of Pittsburgh has found that use of these among the [...]
I never realised just how damaging our obsession with smartphones and our switched-on lifestyle was, nor how addictive screen time was, until I put my teenagers on an extended digital detox. The results were swift and shocking, raising the question of just what is happening to the selfie generation and whether we have more to fear [...]
A new study has examined the development of mental health problems and resilience among at-risk youth. It may be considered as one of the most common "sleep aids" people employ to help them drift off at night, but according to a recent study, alcohol can actually be a roadblock to good sleep in teenagers. The [...]
There has been a steep rise in reports of self-harm among girls aged 13 to 16, according to a study of data from GP practices across the UK. The BMJ study, which looked at figures from 2011-2014, said GPs could be getting better at picking up self-harm. But it was likely that rising stress and [...]
In Australia, approximately one student in five is bullied at school every few weeks or more often. Many of these students suffer serious emotional and psychological harm, such as persistent anxiety, depression and suicidal thinking, and are unable to concentrate on their school work. It is clear they need help. Teachers routinely inform students that [...]
The adolescent years are when people's bodies are supposed to start the ascent to their physical peak. Teenagers are growing like beanstalks. Their hormones are raging. They're eager for new experiences. By all accounts, this should be among the most active periods in a person's lifetime. Except it turns out it's not. In an eye-opening study [...]
More young people are needing emergency assistance for alcohol intoxication than in previous years, new data from Western Australia show. The state-wide ambulance figures show ambulance call-out rates are on the rise in the state, with young women requiring more urgent medical assistance for alcohol intoxication than young men. The figures were released this week [...]
With around half of the Australian population logging into Facebook on a daily basis (yes, that's 12.2 million of us), it's safe to say social media plays a large role in many of our everyday lives. Of course, while there are numerous benefits to social media use, what you get out of it corresponds rather [...]
Higher than average levels of impulsiveness, sensitivity to anxiety, sensation seeking and hopelessness. These four personality traits have been shown by researchers to predict those teenagers at high risk of becoming binge drinkers with 90 per cent accuracy. In the first Australian trial, a program targeting 438 year 8 students with one of these traits [...]
Earlier this week, Harvard University revealed that it had rescinded admissions offers to at least 10 students who shared offensive images within what they thought was a private Facebook group chat. The students posted memes and images that mocked minority groups, child abuse, sexual assault and the Holocaust, among other things. It is easy for [...]
