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News & Events
Embracing the mental health of our children and young peopleEmbrace – a new research collaboration based at The Kids – will bring a new focus to understanding and improving the mental health of children and young people.

News & Events
NHMRC grants to benefit vulnerable and disadvantaged children and young peopleTwo leading The Kids Research Institute Australia researchers will use more than $1.1 million in National Health and Medical Research Council funding to improve outcomes for some of the world’s most vulnerable children and young people.

News & Events
Australian researchers join international project to curb unhealthy lifetime trajectoriesAustralian researchers join global effort to better understand how events during pregnancy and childhood influence the development of disease later in life.
Research
Cannabidiol for at risk for psychosis youth: A randomized controlled trialNo biological treatment has been firmly established for the at-risk stage of psychotic disorder. In this study we aim to test if subthreshold psychotic symptoms can be effectively treated with cannabidiol (CBD), a non-psychoactive compound of the plant Cannabis sativa.
Research
Maternal and paternal mental health problems and the risk of offspring depression in late adolescence: findings from the Raine studyThere are limited studies on the risk of depressive symptoms in adolescent offspring exposed to parental mental health problems in middle childhood. We investigated the association between parental mental health problems, particularly paternal emotional problems and maternal symptoms of anxiety and depression, and the risk of depressive symptoms in adolescent offspring aged 17.
Research
Toxoplasma gondii, Herpesviridae and long-term risk of transition to first-episode psychosis in an ultra high-risk sampleUltra high-risk (UHR) criteria were introduced to identify people at imminent risk of developing psychosis. To improve prognostic accuracy, additional clinical and biological risk factors have been researched.
Research
Options and realities for trans and gender diverse young people receiving care in Australia's mental health system: findings from Trans PathwaysTrans and gender diverse young people experience mental health difficulties self-harm and suicidality at markedly higher rates than the general population, yet they often feel isolated from mental health services. There is little qualitative research on the experiences of trans and gender diverse young people accessing mental health support in Australia.
Research
The anticipatory response to stress and symptoms of depression and anxiety in early adulthoodWhilst cortisol reactivity has been associated with depression and anxiety disorders, research examining cortisol reactivity with early symptoms of these conditions in males and females is limited.
Research
A Pilot Case-Control Study of the Social Media Activity Following Cluster and Non-Cluster Suicides in AustraliaSocial media may play a role in the "contagion" mechanism thought to underpin suicide clusters. Our pilot case-control study presented a novel methodological approach to examining whether Facebook activity following cluster and non-cluster suicides differed.
Research
Development of a Self-Harm Monitoring System for VictoriaThe prevention of suicide and suicide-related behaviour are key policy priorities in Australia and internationally. The World Health Organization has recommended that member states develop self-harm surveillance systems as part of their suicide prevention efforts. This is also a priority under Australia's Fifth National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Plan. The aim of this paper is to describe the development of a state-based self-harm monitoring system in Victoria, Australia. In this system, data on all self-harm presentations are collected from eight hospital emergency departments in Victoria. A natural language processing classifier that uses machine learning to identify episodes of self-harm is currently being developed.