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Research

Mental illness is a public health challenge disproportionately affecting rural Australians. GPs provide most of the mental health care, and they report increasing levels of burnout and unsustainable workload in the context of increased patient complexity. This may be more salient in rural settings characterised by resource constraints. In this paper, we use evaluation data from a GP psychiatry phone line established in Western Australia's Great Southern region in 2021 to describe GPs' perspectives on the service and reflect on how it may help alleviate rural GP workload. 

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This pre-registered systematic review synthesised and evaluated the existing literature on self-reported mental health and wellbeing of siblings of individuals with neurodevelopmental conditions.

Research

Individuals with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) are at an elevated suicide risk compared with those in the general population. This public health issue warrants further research attention to help inform the development of prevention and intervention efforts. Our study is the first to characterize suicidality (i.e., suicidal ideation/suicide attempt) and explore associated risk factors in young individuals with FASD within the Australian context.

Research

Young men aged 18-25 years are at disproportionately increased risk for gambling problems compared to their older or female counterparts. The unique mechanisms that precipitate these problems in this group remain unclear. Data from the largest longitudinal cohort study on Australian men's health (the Ten to Men Study) were used to identify the psychosocial, health-related, and gambling-related behavioral predictors of problem gambling severity in 265 young men aged 18-25 years. Hierarchical multiple ordinal logistic regression analyses found these predictors to explain a moderate proportion of variance in problem gambling severity. 

Research

Stigma and self-stigma reduce self-esteem and increase hopelessness and suicidality. While psychotic disorders are widely recognized as the most stigmatizing of all mental health disorders, there is a dearth of research investigating how stigma and self-stigma are experienced by young people at ultra-high risk (UHR) for psychosis.

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The current study used a transdiagnostic approach to explore experiences of consumers and professionals on how the process of assessing and diagnosing neurodevelopmental conditions can be improved.

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Effective social skills are essential for functional social support, help-seeking, and resource access. Digital social skills training plays a key role in empowering individuals to develop social competence, improve access to various support and resources, and enhance locus of control through dynamic media. 

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Young people transitioning from out-of-home care (OHC) frequently experience poor mental health and resilience due to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). However, there is limited understanding of the factors that mediate and moderate these outcomes. This is the first study to integrate linked administrative and longitudinal data to examine the mediation and moderation effects of placement stability, independent living skills (ILS), social inclusion, and self-determination when examining the association between ACEs and care status on mental health and resilience.

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Senior Research Officer

Research

Youth sports programs provide an opportunity to embed mental health and wellbeing programs to reach young people with mental health support. The aims of this study were to (a) examine mental health outcomes from a youth sports program including a mental health program (Life-Fit-Learning) in adolescent boys and girls, and (b) among the larger cohort of adolescent boys, to examine whether partial or full completion of Life-Fit-Learning yielded different outcomes for boys within healthy and high-risk ranges for anxiety, depression and behavioral concerns.