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PAHL researchers use their expertise in motivation, behaviour change, resilience, communication, teamwork, confidence, and leadership to develop programs and services that improve people’s physical and mental health.

Gratitude has consistently been associated with various beneficial health-related outcomes, including subjective wellbeing, positive mental health, and positive physical health. In light of such effects, positive psychology researchers and practitioners have often implemented gratitude interventions in an attempt to build individuals' orientations toward appreciation and thankfulness. Recent meta-analyses and reviews have revealed, however, that these interventions often have mixed effects on gratitude or other health outcomes. 

With an increasing number of grandparents providing care to their grandchildren, calls have been made for these caregivers to be considered important stakeholders in encouraging children's engagement in health-promoting behaviors, such as physical activity.

Despite there being an increasing number of applied flow studies across scientific disciplines, there exists no consistent or broadly applicable intervention to promote flow experiences. This study provides a detailed account of a new educational flow training program developed following recent advancements in the flow literature that have provided a more parsimonious understanding of flow experiences and antecedents.

A Network comprised of four regional sites to facilitate key medical, research and training activities undertaken in partnership with Aboriginal communities.

Head, Brain and Behaviour Research

Children in out-of-home care participate in less organised sport than children from other household structures, potentially reducing opportunities for improvements in social, developmental, and health outcomes. Despite this, little is known about barriers and facilitators of sport participation for children in care. We aimed to explore carers' perspectives on the influences on children in care's participation and experiences in organised sport.

Trans individuals face elevated health risks and socio-environmental challenges, influencing their engagement in health-protective behaviors (e.g. exercise and nutrition). Despite these challenges, there is a significant gap in understanding the specific eating and exercise experiences of Australian trans adults, including barriers to healthy behaviors and healthcare experiences. This study aims to address this gap by exploring these experiences, informing targeted interventions and healthcare practices to improve health outcomes.

Research suggests there is considerable opportunity to improve children's movement behaviors while they are being cared for by their grandparents. An understanding of the extent to which grandparent practices facilitate children's engagement in physical activity is critical to the development of health interventions targeting grandparent caregivers.

In three experiments, we examine the role of motives underlying goal pursuit and the metacognitive strategy of mental contrasting with implementation intentions (MCII) to predict the strategic use of self-regulation responses (persistence, disengagement, and reengagement) when faced with attainable, unattainable, or multiple goals.