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Research
They Told Me “This Isn’t a Hotel”: Young People’s Experiences and Perceptions of Care When Presenting to the Emergency Department with Suicide-Related BehaviourIn Australia, the number of young people presenting to the emergency department with mental health concerns, in particular, suicidal behaviour (defined here as suicidal ideation, thoughts, intent and attempts) is increasing.
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Racism and Indigenous Adolescent Development: A Scoping ReviewPrevious studies on the impacts of racism on adolescent development have largely overlooked Indigenous youth. We conducted a scoping review of the empirical literature on racism against Indigenous adolescents to determine the nature and scope of this research and to establish associations with developmental outcomes.

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Major grants fuel child health researchSix researchers from The Kids Research Institute Australia have been awarded $8.9 million in prestigious Investigator Grants from the National Health and Medical Research Council.
Research
School-based depression and anxiety prevention programs: An updated systematic review and meta-analysisDepression and anxiety are often first experienced during childhood and adolescence, and interest in the prevention of these disorders is growing. The focus of this review was to assess the effectiveness of psychological prevention programs delivered in schools, and to provide an update to our previous review from five years ago (Werner-Seidler, Perry, Calear, Newby, & Christensen, 2017).
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Climate change, activism, and supporting the mental health of children and young people: Perspectives from Western AustraliaThe climate crisis has detrimental impacts on the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people. Psychological effects include feelings of fear, overwhelm, worry, distress, hopelessness and anger; PTSD; depression; anxiety; phobias; panic disorder; sleep disturbances; attachment disorders; learning difficulties; substance abuse; shock and trauma symptoms; adjustment problems; behavioural problems; and, suicidal thinking.
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Don't Get Lost in Translation: Integrating Developmental and Implementation Sciences to Accelerate Real-World Impact on Children's Development, Health, and WellbeingTranslation 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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Basic epidemiology of wellbeing among children and adolescents: A cross-sectional population level studyWellbeing and mental health are fundamental rights of children and adolescents essential for sustainable development. Understanding the epidemiology of child and adolescent wellbeing is essential to informing population health approaches to improving wellbeing and preventing mental illness.
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The perinatal and childhood outcomes of children born to Indigenous women with mental health problems: A scoping reviewMaternal mental health problems are common during the perinatal period and have been associated with several negative outcomes in children. However, few studies have examined the associations between maternal mental health problems and offspring outcomes among Indigenous people, and the findings across these studies have been inconsistent. This scoping review examined the birth and childhood (≤12 years) health and development outcomes of the children of Indigenous women with mental health problems.
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Support needs and experiences of young people living in families with mental illnessChildren and adolescents living in families affected by mental illness are at elevated risk of developing mental health problems. A range of interventions have been designed to help these young people; however, the effectiveness of these programs is, in some cases, mixed. Our aim was to understand in detail the support needs and experiences of a group of Australian children and adolescents living in families with mental illness.
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Factors Influencing Parental Acceptance of Trans Children and Young People: Findings from Trans PathwaysTrans 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.