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A landmark new report on the social and emotional wellbeing of Aboriginal children

Suicide prevention researcher Kate Miller has been recognised for her innovative work in developing safe, effective online resources for young people.

This project aims to inform harm prevention and minimisation strategies by investigating outcomes and points for early intervention in young people with alcohol-related harm. Researchers will also compare outcomes between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal youth.

According to the Young Minds Matter study, mental health disorders such as anxiety and depression are experienced by approximately one in seven or 560,000 young people in Australia. These disorders can often have a significant impact on children’s learning and development and on family life.

There is increasing interest in the association between perinatal depression and diet including whether diet may have an impact on depressive symptoms and equally whether depression influences diet. Furthermore, whether pharmacological treatment of depression with antidepressant medication also may influence diet.

"Psychotic-Like Experiences" (PLEs) are common in the general population. While they are usually transient and resolve spontaneously, they can be distressing and signify increased risk for later psychosis or other psychopathology. It is important to investigate factors associated with PLEs which could be targeted to reduce their prevalence and impact. Males and females are known to experience PLEs differently, but any gender differences in the relationships between PLEs and other, potentially targetable, factors are currently unknown.

Young adults who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer or questioning, intersex, asexual and other diverse genders and sexualities (LGBTQIA+) are more likely to experience mental health difficulties and are at significantly elevated risk of substance abuse, self-harm and suicide, relative to their heterosexual, endosex and cisgender peers. There is a need for effective mental health interventions for LGBTQIA+ young adults. Mindful Self-Compassion training is a promising approach; among LGBTQIA+ individuals, self-compassion accounts for more variation in mental health outcomes than bullying, victimization, and adverse childhood experiences combined. Furthermore, LGBTQIA+ individuals with high self-compassion report more positive identity and happiness, less self-stigma, and lower suicidality than those with low self-compassion.

It is plausible that offspring born to mothers using tobacco during pregnancy may have increased risk of mood disorders (depression and bipolar disorders); however, mixed results have been reported.

Energy drinks (EDs) claim to boost mental performance, however, few studies have examined the prospective effects of EDs on mental health. This study examined longitudinal associations between ED use and mental health symptoms in young adults aged 20 years over a 2-year period.

The major hypothesis of this study is that acute tryptophan depletion will be negatively associated with mood and cognitive functioning