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Research

Climate change, activism, and supporting the mental health of children and young people: Perspectives from Western Australia

The climate crisis has detrimental impacts on the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people. Psychological effects include feelings of fear, overwhelm, worry, distress, hopelessness and anger; PTSD; depression; anxiety; phobias; panic disorder; sleep disturbances; attachment disorders; learning difficulties; substance abuse; shock and trauma symptoms; adjustment problems; behavioural problems; and, suicidal thinking.

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School-based depression and anxiety prevention programs: An updated systematic review and meta-analysis

Depression and anxiety are often first experienced during childhood and adolescence, and interest in the prevention of these disorders is growing. The focus of this review was to assess the effectiveness of psychological prevention programs delivered in schools, and to provide an update to our previous review from five years ago (Werner-Seidler, Perry, Calear, Newby, & Christensen, 2017).

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Basic epidemiology of wellbeing among children and adolescents: A cross-sectional population level study

Wellbeing and mental health are fundamental rights of children and adolescents essential for sustainable development. Understanding the epidemiology of child and adolescent wellbeing is essential to informing population health approaches to improving wellbeing and preventing mental illness.

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Mind the distance: experiences of non-face-to-face child and youth mental health services during COVID-19 social distancing restrictions in Western Australia

Following the outbreak of COVID-19, social distancing restrictions limited access to face-to-face mental health services in Western Australia (WA), necessitating a rapid transition to non-face-to-face alternatives, including telehealth. The current study investigated barriers and facilitators to telehealth access and engagement, and preferences for child and youth mental health service delivery during and beyond COVID-19.

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Psychosocial functioning in the balance between autism and psychosis: evidence from three populations

Functional impairment is a core feature of both autism and schizophrenia spectrum disorders. While diagnostically independent, they can co-occur in the same individual at both the trait and diagnostic levels. The effect of such co-occurrence is hypothesized to worsen functional impairment. The diametric model, however, suggests that the disorders are etiologically and phenotypically diametrical, representing the extreme of a unidimensional continuum of cognition and behavior.

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Connection to... Addressing Digital Inequities in Supporting the Well-Being of Young Indigenous Australians in the Wake of COVID-19

This article examines whether connection to digital technologies helps connect young Indigenous people in Australia to culture, community and country to support good mental health and well-being and protect against indirect and potentially long-term effects of COVID-19.

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Psychiatry and Pharmacology

Dissociation can exist along a continuum from normal developmental experiences to severe and contributing to persistent mental illness and impeding normal development. It can also occur as a discreet symptom in a range of disorders or as a disorder itself, and can change depending on a number of factors such as the age and stage of development.

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The Role of Friends in Supporting Young People With Cancer: A Scoping Review

Peers play a crucial role in supporting wellbeing and psychosocial development for young people aged 12-25. However, a cancer experience often leads to challenges maintaining friendships. There have been no prior attempts to map or synthesise available research or resources on support specifically from friends for young people with cancer, limiting the capacity to draw conclusions or determine next steps for how to best support young people with cancer. This review aims to address this gap by mapping and synthesising the available literature and resources.

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Ensuring That Marginalized Young People Feel Welcome, Understood, and Empowered in Health Services: A Qualitative Examination of the Service Needs of Aboriginal LGBTQA+ Young People

A lack of appropriate care and discrimination in healthcare settings likely compounds the existing risks to mental health and well-being for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer/questioning, and asexual (LGBTQA+) young people. The current study contributes findings from Aboriginal LGBTQA+ young people's perspectives on their health service needs and preferences.

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Characterising symptomatic substates in individuals on the psychosis continuum: a hidden Markov modelling approach

To improve early intervention and personalise treatment for individuals early on the psychosis continuum, a greater understanding of symptom dynamics is required. We address this by identifying and evaluating the movement between empirically derived attenuated psychotic symptomatic substates-clusters of symptoms that occur within individuals over time.