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Grunts and Eye Rolls, Finding a Better Way to Communicate, Debunking the Ice Epidemic, Media Violence – Busting the Myths!

Generation Next Newsletter - 15 September 2015

In This Issue

  • Grunts and Eye Rolls, Finding a Better Way to Communicate
  • Debunking the Ice Epidemic
  • Media Violence – Busting the Myths!
  • How Great Australian Spelling Bee Made Spelling and Being a Nerd Cool Again; Study Connects Objectification of Women with Increased Vulnerability to Sexual Victimization; Researchers Connect Sleep Loss to Higher Rates of Illness; Practice Being Grateful and Reap the Benefits; Men and Women with Autism Have ‘Extreme Male’ Scores on ‘Eyes Test’ of Mindreading

Grunts and Eye Rolls, Finding a Better Way to Communicate

By Angie Wilcock


Sometimes it can be very frustrating communicating with an adolescent.

The old saying “It’s not what you say, it’s how you say it” is particularly relevant when dealing with adolescents. Not only are they undergoing huge personal physical, social, psychological and emotional change, but communication patterns are also undergoing a transformation. This is NOT the time to throw your hands up and say “My house (class), my rules”. This is a time to think about how we can communicate more effectively to build on what is hopefully a positive relationship.

Consider these strategies:

I. Talk less and listen more!

  • Adolescents are not children – they often want to talk less, and we need to be better at either picking up the right cues to open a conversation, or when to simply listen and not talk (or offer unsolicited advice!) at all.

Read the full article on the Generation Next blog »
 

Debunking the Ice Epidemic

By Kimberly Price

The ice epidemic! New stories, new perspectives every day in the news. But what is really happening? Are we facing an ice epidemic? I want to begin by highlighting the truths and myths of ice use in Australia. Let’s start with the latest research. According to the 2013 National Drug Strategy Household Survey, 2.1% of the population reported using methamphetamine (ice, base & speed) in the previous 12 months. This has also been the percentage of the population using methamphetamines for the past 10 years – which means there has been no significant increase in methamphetamine users. This firstly tells us we’re not facing an epidemic. An epidemic refers to a spread from person to person. This is simply not what we’re seeing with ice use.

Read the full article on the Generation Next blog »
 

Media Violence – Busting the Myths!

By Barbara Biggins

The American Psychological Association has just released a review of the research on the impact of playing violent video games. Contrary to what the mass media, the gaming industry and many gamers would have us believe, the jury is still not out on whether ongoing exposure to violent video games poses a risk of harm.

The APA Task Force on Violent Media reports that

The research demonstrates a consistent relation between violent video game use and increases in aggressive behaviour, aggressive cognitions and aggressive affect and decreases in prosocial behaviour, empathy and sensitivity to aggression. 

Read the full article on the Generation Next blog »
 

Scroll to the bottom for more on...

How Great Australian Spelling Bee Made Spelling and Being a Nerd Cool Again; Study Connects Objectification of Women with Increased Vulnerability to Sexual Victimization; Researchers Connect Sleep Loss to Higher Rates of Illness; Practice Being Grateful and Reap the Benefits; Men and Women with Autism Have ‘Extreme Male’ Scores on ‘Eyes Test’ of Mindreading

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Notes & Resources

Click HERE to view a list of notes and resources

Building Trust: Why it Matters and How We Do It – Justin Coulson
Kids, Consumerism and Materialism – Chris Zinn
Heavy Metal Contamination – Prof Mark Taylor
Wellbeing: What Do Young People Want? – Kerry Stirling
What No One Knows About Boys – Maggie Hamilton
Wellbeing That Works – Principals Australia Institute
Twitter Rules & Tools – Julie Inman Grant
Rascism: How Should We Respond? – Dr Tim Soutphommasane
Preventing and Responding to Cases of Child Sexual Abuse – Prof Freda Briggs AO
Working with Children and Young People
The Challenges of Change – Dr Travis Kemp
Obesity and Eating Disorders – Prof Susan Sawyer
Holistic Approaches to Promoting Healthy Minds and Healthy Weight – Prof Susan Sawyer

Problem Sexual Behaviour, Government of SA

Interest in mindfulness and meditation in general continues to grow, especially with regard to its role in mental health and wellbeing.

As a result there is great need for more scientific understanding of the various experiences associated with it. To help us do this, we hope you might participate in a brief scientific survey.

The purpose of this survey is to develop our understanding of the relationship between everyday consciousness and mindfulness/meditation.

We anticipate that it will not take much more than 5 minutes of your time. 

In this short time your participation in this scientific study will help us improve our understanding of what  makes some experiences more engaging and enjoyable than others. 



Please participate in the survey by clicking here http://tiny.cc/0g99qw

Thankyou!
Dr Joshua Pritikin, Prof Karen Schmidt and the Generation Next team 
University of Virginia, Psych Dept 
Charlottesville, VA 22903 

 
Want to Support Generation Next? Tweet or Post about Us! 
 
Generation Next has the unique opportunity to receive up to $50,000 in funding to help support our work in youth mental health education. This funding would enable us to establish new and extend existing initatives for the benefit of the wellbeing of young people in Australia.

In 2015, our work has already positively impacted on over 2 million young people. However, for every young person reached, there are others who do not have access to information, tools and strategies that can make a real difference to their own and their peers' wellbeing. Granting them and their communities access to our existing resources, as well as establishing a permanent youth program would go a long way to ensuring all our young people become more resilient, are well-supported and know where to turn to help. 

To do this however, we need your help. So please support us by voting for us - all you need to do is:

1. Visit https://www.microsoft.com/en-au/windows/UpgradeYourWorld/

2. Scroll to the bottom of the page

3. Enter 'GenNextVoice' in the space and vote via Twitter or Facebook!

Please share this with your friends, family and colleagues and help us make a difference in youth mental health! You can vote maximum once a day, so please help us out by voting for us every day!

Your help is very much appreciated and will help us continue our work to ensure that our young people can become happy, healthy and resilient adults. 
 

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