It’s a well-worn political trick that you caricature and call your opponents names when you don’t want to engage with the substance of their claims. In debates about porn, pornography advocates often seek…
Young people are uniquely vulnerable to bullying – as both victims and perpetrators.
kid-josh/Flickr
The recent arrest by Canadian police of two young people who allegedly shared a photo of a young woman being sexually assaulted has once again highlighted the danger that social media can pose for teenagers…
The latest research has found that quite a lot of young people are accessing sexually explicit material.
Alejandro Lorenzo
Porn. Just utter the word aloud and hearts pound, pulses quicken, and minds start racing. Depending on the context, these effects may be the result of concern for young people’s well-being rather than…
Children who go through puberty early have poorer mental health than their peers. But it’s not a simple case of cause and effect.
Image from shutterstock.com
Fiona Mensah, Murdoch Children's Research Institute and George Patton, Murdoch Children's Research Institute
Puberty has long been recognised as a transition point in which many emotional and behavioural problems emerge. These include depression and anxiety, substance use and abuse, self-harm and eating disorders…
Young people should be left alone with their doctor for at least part of each consultation.
Image from shutterstock.com
Rony Duncan, Murdoch Children's Research Institute
What qualities do you most want your doctor to have? Good medical knowledge? Honesty? Good listening skills? Empathy? You probably want your doctor to have all of these traits – and teenagers are no different…
Strict regulation of children’s sexual knowledge can increase prejudice about differences.
Kim Cofino
In the fields of gender, sexuality, and sexual health research, it’s a no-brainer that sex education should start early, and that sex should be discussed often – both in schools and at home. But instead…
Researchers found early and persistent cannabis users showed an eight-point decline in IQ compared to those who hadn’t used cannabis in this way.
Jonah G.S.
A study published today in the scholarly journal PNAS questions the conclusion of a paper from last year that was widely seen as greatly strengthening the evidence that regular cannabis use beginning in…
As an adolescent and child psychiatrist, I dispense all sorts of labels – but what do they mean?
emildom
MATTERS OF THE MIND – a series which examines the clinician’s bible for diagnosing mental disorders, the DSM, and the controversy surrounding the forthcoming fifth edition. As a child and adolescent psychiatrist…
Boys are likely be offered subsidised vaccinations against the sexually transmitted, wart and cancer-causing human papillomavirus (HPV) following a government committee recommendation to expand the use…
Professor of Adolescent Health The University of Melbourne; Director, Royal Children's Hospital Centre for Adolescent Health, The University of Melbourne