Search

Research

Loneliness, a negative emotion stemming from the perception of unmet social needs, is a major public health concern. Current interventions often target social domains but produce small effects and are not as effective as established emotion regulation (ER)-based interventions for general psychological distress (i.e., depression/anxiety).

Research

This study assessed if the association between mental disorders and higher student absences varies across different profiles of risk factors, and estimated the proportion of student absences associated with mental disorders. Data included responses from a nationally representative Australian survey of child and adolescent mental health.

Research

This paper presents the first causal estimates of the effect of weather on children's time allocation. It exploits exogenous variations in local weather observed during the random diary dates of two nationally representative cohorts of Australian children whose time-use diaries were surveyed biennially over 10 years.

Research

Interparental conflict (IPC) has the potential to adversely affect children's social, emotional, and behavioural functioning. The overall objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between both the severity and chronicity of IPC across early and middle childhood and children's emotional-behavioural functioning at 10-11 years. Specifically, we aimed to: (1) identify distinct trajectories of IPC spanning 10-11 years since birth of the study child as reported by mothers, and (2) examine the emotional-behavioural functioning of children exposed to the identified IPC trajectories.

Research

School-based social risk processes in the lives of young people with chronic health conditions are likely to contribute to risk of psychological problems

Research

Relatively disadvantaged children might benefit more from attending childcare, as indicated by the positive estimated effects found for those who never attended childcare

Research

This study aimed to (1) examine the strength of the association between mental disorders/mental health problems, risk behaviours and tobacco smoking among Australian adolescents, (2) compare rates of tobacco smoking among Australian adolescents with major depressive disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and/or conduct disorder in 2013/14 vs 1998, and (3) identify the extent to which an association between tobacco smoking and mental health problems among adolescents can be attributed to non-mental health risk factors.

Research

There is a large volume of research on the persistence of advantage and disadvantage across generations. Intergenerational studies typically address family resources as independent factors, which ignores how risks cluster together and accumulate over time.

Research

The National Support for Child and Youth Mental Health Program (the Program) aims to improve mental health outcomes for children and young people, commencing with the early years and going through to adolescence, by providing targeted grants for workforce and education activities that will build capabilities aligned to the Program objectives.

Research

The relationship between physical activity and child health and development is well-documented, yet the extant literature provides limited causal insight into the amount of physical activity considered optimal for improving any given health or developmental outcome.