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Research

Australian Aboriginal people experience stressors from inequalities across crucial social determinants, including deep and entrenched disadvantage and exclusion. The impact of unaddressed historical issues is pervasive and intergenerational. The disproportionate rates of Aboriginal youth suicide, juvenile detention and imprisonment highlight the inadequacy of existing social and emotional wellbeing programs and services for Aboriginal children and young people.

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The school environment profoundly influences children's development, behaviours, and attitudes. This chapter delves into the relationship between school design and architecture, and their impact on bullying, victimisation, inclusivity, and student well-being. Research underscores the significant impact of school design on student social dynamics, advocating for collaborative efforts among stakeholders to craft effective anti-bullying policies.

Research

The prevalence of mental illness is a critical public health issue. In Australia, the prevalence of mental illness is similar across all settings, however, people living in rural and remote areas experience worse outcomes than their urban counterparts. Access to mental health services is critical, however, the notion of accessibility needs to be understood in the context of the uniqueness and variability of the rural experience.

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Trans youth are at high risk of mental health difficulties and negative life events. Strong parental support is highly protective however there is little understanding of what factors facilitate the process of parental understanding and acceptance of a child’s gender identity.

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Abstract: To examine the association between mental health workforce supply and spatial clusters of high versus low incidence of youth suicide.

Research

Cognitive impairment is a well-documented predictor of transition to a full-threshold psychotic disorder amongst individuals at ultra-high risk (UHR) for psychosis. However, less is known about whether change in cognitive functioning differs between those who do and do not transition.

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Translation of developmental science discoveries is impeded by numerous barriers at different stages of the research-to-practice pipeline. Actualization of the vast potential of the developmental sciences to improve children's health and development in the real world is imperative but has not yet been fully realized.

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Growing up in socioeconomic disadvantage increases risk of peer bullying at school. Both socioeconomic status and involvement in bullying are predictive of a range of adverse developmental outcomes. However, neither (a) the mechanisms whereby disadvantage increases bullying risk nor (b) the developmental outcomes for which bullying may mediate disadvantage are clear. 

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This study explored mental health profiles in Australian school students using indicators of well-being (i.e., optimism, life satisfaction, and happiness) and psychological distress (i.e., sadness and worries). The sample included 75,757 students (ages 8-18 years) who completed the 2019 South Australian Wellbeing and Engagement Collection.

Research

This study was guided by three research aims: firstly, to examine the longitudinal trends of health-related quality of life (HR-QoL) among gender and sexuality diverse (LGBTQA2S+) young people through adolescence (ages 14-19); secondly, to assess longitudinal associations between poor mental health and HR-QoL among LGBTQA2S+ young people through adolescence; and thirdly, to examine differences in HR-QoL among LGBTQA2S+ young people during early adolescence (ages 14 and 15) depending on select school-, peer-, and parent-level factors.