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Research
Basic epidemiology of wellbeing among children and adolescents: A cross-sectional population level studyWellbeing 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.
Research
It’s time for change: inequities and determinants of health-related quality of life among gender and sexually diverse young people in AustraliaThis study was guided by three research aims: firstly, to examine the longitudinal trends of health-related quality of life (HR-QoL) among gender and sexuality diverse (LGBTQA2S+) young people through adolescence (ages 14-19); secondly, to assess longitudinal associations between poor mental health and HR-QoL among LGBTQA2S+ young people through adolescence; and thirdly, to examine differences in HR-QoL among LGBTQA2S+ young people during early adolescence (ages 14 and 15) depending on select school-, peer-, and parent-level factors.
Research
Effects of a positive education programme on secondary school students’ mental health and wellbeing; challenges of the school contextPrevious research has demonstrated wellbeing benefits for positive education programmes (PEPs) facilitated by clinicians or experts or outside the school context. The current study explored the effects of a Year 10 PEP led by teachers trained in positive education and embedded within the Australian secondary school context.
Research
Western Australian Child Development AtlasWe know that place, location, and geography can all influence health, wellbeing, and disease, and thus are important factors in policy development and service planning.
Research
Review of the quality of evidence for preschool and school-based programs to support social and emotional skills, perseverance and academic self-conceptThis project provides guidance to help school leaders review the evidence for different programs, as well as a review of universal, evidence-based pre-school and school-based social and emotional learning programs available in Australia.
Research
School AttendanceEach day of school missed makes a difference, with the effect on learning accumulating over time. From an early age, if children are taught that they need to 'show up' for school and make a commitment, this positive mentality aids academic and career success and brings benefits in adulthood.
Research
The Association Between Breakfast Skipping and Positive and Negative Emotional Wellbeing Outcomes for Children and Adolescents in South AustraliaThe prevalence of child and adolescent breakfast skipping is concerning, and limited existing evidence suggests an association between skipping breakfast and negative emotional wellbeing outcomes. However, positive emotional wellbeing outcomes have been neglected from research in this space.
Research
Language in Little Ones (LiLO)The Language in Little Ones (LiLO) study is a five-year longitudinal study (2017-2021), funded through the National Health and Medical Research Council. The study investigates the quantity and quality of language exposure in the home environment during the first five years of a child’s life.
News & Events
‘Invisible’ children of imprisoned parents at risk of falling through the cracksA study by The Kids has found children with a parent who has gone to prison are significantly more likely to have poor development outcomes.
Research
The development and pilot of the university student embeddedness (USE) scale for student retention within universities: validation with an Australian student sampleA significant number of university students are leaving their institutions before completing their degrees. The present research project applied embeddedness theory, from organizational research, to understand student retention in a tertiary student population, and develop a quantitative instrument that measured university student embeddedness.