Youth Studies Australia articles from December 2005

Youth Studies Australia archives from December 2005

YSA.
December 1, 2005... We finish the year with an exciting 'mixed bag' of articles that we hope will provide something of interest for all our readers. The first paper outlines the benefits of employing qualified youth workers in youth-specific services. ...

Harassment at work common.(Abuse)(sexual harassement )(Brief article)
December 1, 2005... A South Australian report, Young People and Unions, compiled from surveys and studies over two years, says that one in five young workers in that state are being sexually harassed at work--13% of those are men. It also shows that 25% of young...

Domestic violence contributing to homelessness.(Abuse)(Brief article)
December 1, 2005... Women escaping domestic violence represent 33% of those seeking 'last resort' accommodation through the Supported Accommodation Assistance Program (SAAP). Of those, the turn-away rate is 48%. Figures in a report from the Australian Institute of...

Are young people getting more liberal or more conservative?(Attitudes, opinions, surveys)
December 1, 2005... * Australians have an increasingly liberal outlook, according to 'Australian Social Attitudes: The First Report'. The survey of 4000 people by Australian National University, and analysed by Australian university researchers, found that 65% of...

Kids are techno-savy but have traditional expectations.(Attitudes, opinions, surveys)(Brief article)
December 1, 2005... Research by Nickelodeon Australia, 'A Day in the Life of an Aussie Kid', finds that Australian kids are pocket money rich but time poor. Kids aged between 7 and 14 receive an average of $1100 pocket money every year, and are involved in so many...

World youth better educated but still poor.(Attitudes, opinions, surveys)(Brief article)
December 1, 2005... The UN World Youth Report 2005, released in October, gives a snapshot of the world's 1.2 billion young people aged 15 to 24. About half of the world's young people are living on less than $3 a day, 18% on less than $2 a day--the majority in...

IR changes on apprenticeship announced.(Employment)(Brief article)
December 1, 2005... The Federal Government announced that control over wages and conditions for apprentices and trainees would be given to a new national body, the Australian Fair Pay Commission, which will set minimum wages for young workers and have the...

Lowering apprentice drop-out rate requires effort.(Employment)(Brief article)
December 1, 2005... National Council for Vocational and Educational Research figures show that around 30% of apprentices give up their apprenticeships. This, however, is not the experience of Honeywell Building Solutions, who say attracting young people to...

Young casual workers most vulnerable.(Employment)(Brief article)
December 1, 2005... There is concern that young, unskilled, casual workers will be in a worse situation under new workplace laws; others say their situation can't get worse than it already is. In 2003, about 1.9 million people were in casual jobs, 40% were aged 15...

What do students know about work?(Employment)(Survey)(Brief article)
December 1, 2005... A Smith Family poll of 3018 young people involved in the charity's Learning for Life program for disadvantaged children found they were aiming high with their career aspirations but had insufficient knowledge of the training and education they...

Students juggling work and school.(Employment)(Brief article)
December 1, 2005... The Dusseldorp Skills Forum reports that 27.2% of full-time students aged 15 to 19 are working regular part-time jobs, and that 0.6% have full-time jobs. The DSF's Eric Sidoti says the number of full-time students with permanent part-time jobs...

Clubbers risk hearing loss.(Health)(Brief article)
December 1, 2005... A Club Health Conference in Sydney was told by Lisa McDonald of Britain's Royal National Institute for Deaf People that their survey of 1100 people aged 18 to 30 who went regularly to nightclubs or concerts found that 75% experienced ringing in...

Strokes now occurring in younger adults.(Health)(Brief article)
December 1, 2005... Damage caused by the obesity epidemic, lower physical activity rates and bad habits from modern living is soon likely to cause a wave of ischaemic strokes among 20-30-year-aids. Professor Graeme Hankey, head of the Royal Perth Hospital stroke...

Chronic childhood disease adds burden to families.(Health)(Australian Institute of Health and Welfare's report)(Brief article)
December 1, 2005... 'Selected Chronic Diseases Among Australia's Children', a report from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, says the cumulative toll on families of chronic childhood illness, such as asthma and diabetes, is often high in social,...

NSW diabetes rate among highest in the world.(New South Wales)(Brief article)
December 1, 2005... Research from the Children's Hospital, Westmead, published in the Medical Journal of Australia, shows a significant rise in insulin-dependent diabetes in NSW children under 15: a rise of 2.8% a year between 1990 and 2002. This 'very high'...

Obesity/diet/activity quick picks.
December 1, 2005... The rise in obesity rates, including the role of diet and physical activity, continues to be the subject of a great deal of news coverage. Some recent highlights are: * The Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health, launched by...

Who likes chocolate?(survey of youth)(Brief article)
December 1, 2005... Half of the Australian adult population eat chocolate once a week. A Newspoll survey by Cadbury of 1200 Australians over 18 showed that chocolate lovers were most prevalent among the 18-24-year-aids and predominantly female. Queenslanders were...

ABC attracting younger viewers.(ABC Inc. (Burbank, California))(Brief article)
December 1, 2005... Seventy-one per cent of 14- to 17-year-aids in a Newspoll survey said ABC TV did a good job of providing shows they personally liked to watch. The big rise (up from 51% last year) may be due to the local drama Blue Water High and the...

Underage game playing common.(survey of New Zealand teenagers)(Brief article)
December 1, 2005... A survey of 331 New Zealand teenagers by Underage Gaming Research found that 62% of them had played at least one restricted or banned game from a list of 26 titles. In almost half the cases, the teenagers had bought the games themselves; in a...

TV viewing detrimental to development (and many other things).(Brief article)
December 1, 2005... A British study says TV viewing can damage brain development, leading to increased anti-social behaviour; increase the risk of myopia; slow down the metabolic rate; trigger premature puberty; lead to a 'significantly elevated risk' of sleep...

MHCA report.(Mental Health Council of Australia releases "Not For Service: Experiences of Injustice and Despair in Mental Health Care in Australia")(Brief article)
December 1, 2005... Not For Service: Experiences of Injustice and Despair in Mental Health Care in Australia, the report of the Mental Health Council of Australia was released on 19 October. The report can be downloaded from the Council's site, www.mhca.org.au.

Kids Help Line receiving more mental health calls.(Mental health)
December 1, 2005... Figures released by Kids Help Line during Mental Health Week in October show that 10% of calls received now relate to mental health issues, compared with 3% in 2000. If the issues of suicide or self-injury are added to the mental health calls,...

Hospital emergency treatment insufficient.(Mental health)
December 1, 2005... * Deliberate self-harm, such as poisoning, cutting or piercing, is an important risk factor for subsequent suicide, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, quoting the latest Archives of General...

Mental health problems linked to illicit drug use.(Mental health)
December 1, 2005... The use of recreational drugs, previously thought of as relatively harmless, is now 'a major issue for public policy' because of evidence that increasing use of substances such as marijuana, amphetamines and ecstasy is contributing to psychotic...

Internet program aims to reduce depression.(Mental health)(Brief article)
December 1, 2005... A study involving Year 9 and 10 students from around the country will test the effectiveness of an Internet program to reduce depression among teens. The YouthMood project will test the MoodGYM site of the Centre for Mental Health Research at...

Anxiety levels higher in girls than in boys.(Mental health)(Brief article)
December 1, 2005... Research from the Melbourne University School of Behavioural Sciences found that girls tend to be more anxious than boys through the transitional teenage years, and that if a teen is anxious at 13 he or she will frequently be anxious at 17. The...

Differing views on treatment for childhood depression.(Mental health)
December 1, 2005... * A global review of the evidence for childhood depression treatments reveals no firm guidelines for treatment. A report of the research by Dr Neal Ryan, University of Pittsburgh, published in The Lancet (September 2005), says that between 1%...

Mental illness increasing among unemployed.(Mental health)(Brief article)
December 1, 2005... A survey of Mission Australia staff, working with almost 3000 clients, found that 26% of young people in their job placement employment and training program were either diagnosed with mental illness, or displaying symptoms. The program is for...

Overhaul of driver licensing recommended for Victoria.(Road safety)(Brief article)
December 1, 2005... 'Young Driver Safety', a discussion paper launched by Premier Steve Bracks in August, recommends an extensive overhaul of licensing for Victoria's young drivers, including: extension of the minimum period for the learner's permit from 6 to 12...

Influence of passenger presence.(Road safety)(Brief article)
December 1, 2005... A US study published in the journal Accident Analysis and Prevention found that both male and female teenagers drive more dangerously if they are carrying other teenagers as passengers. Drivers are more likely to tailgate and speed if there is...

IWA offers early awareness program to high schools.(Road safety)(Brief article)
December 1, 2005... A 10-hour 'Keys for Life' program has been developed for presentation in Western Australian high schools as early intervention to promote safe driving. Established by the WA Road Safety Council, the program includes a parent information...

WA rural youth increasingly disengaged.(Rural & regional issues)(West Australia)(Brief article)
December 1, 2005... An ABS survey of 2001 census figures comparing Perth youth with the State's rural and regional young people shows that the regional people are less educated and less likely to have a job, but are almost twice as likely to be living with a...

Young farmers forum considers options.(Rural & regional issues)(Brief article)
December 1, 2005... The inaugural Young Farmers Forum met in Canberra in September to consider ways of dealing with the problem of the declining rural population. One hundred young farmers aged 18 to 35 brainstormed with each other, with politicians and industry...

Underage drinking causing mental problems.(Drugs)(Brief article)
December 1, 2005... According to a British report, under-age binge-drinking is leading a generation of teenagers to have mental health problems.The regular consumption of alcohol is linked to thousands of cases of psychiatric disorders that range from depression...

Cane toads not good for highs.(juvenile drug abuse)(Brief article)
December 1, 2005... In the Northern Territory, children as young as 12 are licking cane toads in an attempt to get high. Some teenagers and young adults are even skinning the toads and drying out their skins in order to smoke them. But Northern Territory health...

Not enough being done to curb suicide in NT.(Suicide)(Northern Territory)(Brief article)
December 1, 2005... A national mental health inquiry has shown that the Northern Territory's suicide rate is 77% higher than the national average, making it the highest in the country. It also has no separate psychiatric unit in any of its three correctional...

Suicide prevention underfunded in ACT.(Suicide)
December 1, 2005... A national survey of youths in Australia has found that 57% of respondents knew someone who has attempted or committed suicide. Democrats Senator Natasha Stott Despoja said, 'It is disturbing that so many young people have firsthand experience...

Gender differences not all that different.(Gender)(Brief article)
December 1, 2005... A study of research papers on psychological differences in gender has found that men and women are not as different as people originally thought. According to Janet Shibley Hyde, professor of psychology at the University of Wisconsin, the...

Children more conservative than parents.(Family)(Brief article)
December 1, 2005... New research has shown that the Australian generation of baby boomers are more optimistic and open minded than their children. The 50-somethings have held onto their relaxed attitudes towards things such as pre-marital sex and divorce, whereas...

Teenage births rates too high in Vic.(Family)(Victoria)(Brief article)
December 1, 2005... In Victoria, every six hours a teenager gives birth. The rise in teen pregnancy has provoked calls for less raunchy music videos, an increase in sex education and the promotion of abstinence. Family Planning Victoria has said that more and...

Body image survey of young women.(Health)
December 1, 2005... A survey has shown that young Australian women have healthier, more curvaceous bodies than they did 10 years ago. Of the 500 women aged 18-35 studied, 89% liked their body 'a little' or 'a lot' and when asked to pick the perfect body, most...

Think typewriter.(attitudes of youth)(Brief article)
December 1, 2005... The 20- and 30-somethings of today are finding that the typewriter is better than a computer. Having grown up around the fastest, smallest, quietest gadgets they find the blank screen and blinking cursor of a monitor less intimate than a...

Why employ qualified youth workers?
December 1, 2005... Young people are the specified clients of many of those employed in community services, in both government and non-government agencies. Many of these employees, however, do not have formal qualifications in youth work. In this article, Judith...

The September and December 2004 editions of Youth Studies Australia focused on the relevance of youth work practice.(XTRA)
December 1, 2005... The September and December 2004 editions of Youth Studies Australia focused on the relevance of youth work practice. For details of the articles and to order back issues, go to the ACYS web site at: and .

Resources on a youth work code of ethics are outlined on the Youth Action and Policy Association of NSW web site at: www.yapa. org.au/youthwork/ethicscode/There you'll find the 44-page discussion paper issued in 2004 by the Youth Affairs Council of Victoria--That old chestnut.(New South Wales)(Brief article)
December 1, 2005... Resources on a youth work code of ethics are outlined on the Youth Action and Policy Association of NSW web site at: www.yapa. org.au/youthwork/ethicscode/There you'll find the 44-page discussion paper issued in 2004 by the Youth Affairs...

In the UK, the 'Youth Matters' green paper, released in July, talks of youth work as a form of professional intervention, and 'offers the prospect of drawing together effective local services for young people through the coordinating duty of local authorities, working in partnership with others'.(Brief article)
December 1, 2005... In the UK, the 'Youth Matters' green paper, released in July, talks of youth work as a form of professional intervention, and 'offers the prospect of drawing together effective local services for young people through the coordinating duty of...

The UK National Youth Agency has released a youth manifesto 'calling on local and national government to deliver better services to young people.(Brief article)
December 1, 2005... The UK National Youth Agency has released a youth manifesto 'calling on local and national government to deliver better services to young people... Central to its message is the need to involve young people as experts in their own needs and to...

Dance classes, youth cultures and public health.
December 1, 2005... Young people's dancing, in association with popular music cultures, has been the focus of a considerable amount of research. However, less attention has been paid to adolescents' and young adults' involvement in structured dancing experiences....

Social capital: a rural youth perspective.
December 1, 2005... Social capital is often seen as a form of community capacity building. Little is known about how it is used by or impacts on young people. This study reports on a project in which rural young people identified relevant items for a social...

Social Exclusion and the Remaking of Social Networks.(Brief article)(Book review)
December 1, 2005... Social exclusion and the remaking of social networks, by Robert Strathdee of Victoria University in Wellington, New Zealand (Ashgate Publishing, March 2005, ISBN 0 7546 3815 4; www.ashgate.com Broad changes in social infrastructure and...

The Local government & social capital action research project: What makes communities tick?(Brief article)
December 1, 2005... The Local government & social capital action research project: What makes communities tick?, by G. Woolcock, D. Renton, & J. Cavaye; report commissioned by the Local Government Association of Queensland, 2004. Harvard academic Robert...

"I am a good driver": young people's constructions of themselves as road users.
December 1, 2005... Young people, especially young men, are a key target of a range of safe-driving social marketing campaigns. Yet they continue to be overrepresented as drivers in road crashes. Interviews with a small sample of young drivers show that they...

The rock and water program: empowering youth workers and clients.
December 1, 2005... An innovative and increasingly popular youth development program, titled Rock and Water, was recently trialled in the South Australian residential care system. This article provides a general outline of the program and details a case study...

Mentoring 1: Whitelion individualised mentoring and employment program.
December 1, 2005... Using a 'what works' framework and highly individualised case plans, Whitelion matches young people with adult mentors and creates openings in the workplace that would ordinarily be inaccessible to young people with substance abuse backgrounds,...

Mentoring 2: a program for 'at risk' Indigenous youth.
December 1, 2005... In a youth detention centre in Queensland, a mentoring program has been designed to meet the needs of the predominantly Indigenous, male population. This article describes the philosophy of the program, and outlines its role in the...

Young carers and education: identifying the barriers to satisfactory education for young carers.
December 1, 2005... As a consequence of the deinstitutionalisation of people with disabilities and the ageing of the population in the past 25 years, the number of young people fulfilling the role of carer for a relative has increased. The difficulties faced by...

Cultural studies--but a memory now.(From Revolution to Revelation: Generation X, Popular Memory and Cultural Studies)(Book review)
December 1, 2005... Title: From revolution to revelation: Generation X, popular memory and cultural studies Author: Tara Brabazon Publisher: Ashgate Year of publication: 2005 ISBN: 1859736688 Price: 17.99 [pounds sterling] pb, 50.00 [pounds...

Government assistance for young carers.(Carers Australia study)
December 1, 2005... In 2001, the Department of Family and Community Services commissioned Carers Australia to conduct a research study into the number, characteristics and needs of young primary carers in relation to facilitating their social and economic...

Food and eating practices during the transition from secondary school to new social contexts.(Development)(Brief article)
December 1, 2005... W.J. Wills, Journal of Youth Studies, v.8, n.1, 2005, pp.97-110. Adolescence is a time of transition. This study investigates changes in adolescent eating habits and routines prompted by life-changes such as leaving school, moving away from...

Personal safety issues in the lives of children with learning disabilities.(Disability)(Brief article)
December 1, 2005... F. Briggs & R. Hawkins, Children Australia, v.30, n.2, 2005, pp.19-27. This research investigated the vulnerability of New Zealand boys and girls with learning disabilities to drugs, sexual abuse and violence. A group of 55 boys and 61...

Implementing school-based substance abuse interventions: methodological dilemmas and recommended solutions.(Drugs)(Brief article)
December 1, 2005... E.F. Wagner, J.G. Tubman & A.G. Gil, Addiction, n.99, 2004, pp.106-19. School-based intervention programs have been found to be useful in the treatment of adolescent alcohol and other drug abuse, particularly in overcoming the 'limitations...

Pupils' attitudes to industry.(Employment)(Brief article)
December 1, 2005... C. Cullingford, Journal of Education and Work, v.17, n.3, 2004, pp.347-59. Consecutive governments in Britain have worked to promote industry and work force participation among students, with school curricula containing many initiatives to...

Interdependent self: self-perceptions of Vietnamese-American youths.(Multicultural)(Brief article)
December 1, 2005... T. Phan, Adolescence, v.40, n.158, 2005, pp.425-41. Western psychology puts forward an autonomous concept of self that exists independently from society. In Eastern philosophies, however, the self is defined in relation to interactions with...

Kidztalk: A group for children whose parents suffer from mental illness.(Mental health)(Brief article)
December 1, 2005... G. Leach, Developing Practice, n.13, 2005, pp.31-35. Children of mentally ill parents tend to suffer from a lack of adequate education and support services to help them deal with their parents' illness. To address this, Uniting Care...

SPLAT: A model of young people's participation that moves beyond rhetoric to empowerment.(super participation learning action team)(Brief article)
December 1, 2005... W. Daly, C. McPherson & L. Reck, Children Australia, v.29, n.4, 2004, pp.20-26. Research undertaken in Britain and Australia in the past decade has found that children and young people within child protection systems have a desire to...

Conversations with young people in rural and remote places: transforming the emerging self.(Rural and regional)(Brief article)
December 1, 2005... A.M. Bannerman, Adolescence, v.40, n.158, 2005, pp.356-64. In this paper, the researcher describes her use of the Conversational Model of therapy to transform the 'emerging selves' of young people whose lives have been affected by abuse,...

Peer attitudes towards adolescent participants in male-and female-oriented sports.(Sport and leisure)(Brief article)
December 1, 2005... T.R. Alley & C.M. Hicks, Adolescence, v.40, n.158, 2005, pp.273-80. From an early age, individuals are socialised to associate individual sports with masculine, feminine or neutral gender stereotypes. This study examined adolescent...

Space, autonomy and respect: the potential contribution of youth clubs to the lives of disaffected and disengaged young people.(Sport and leisure)(Brief article)
December 1, 2005... Z. Hilton, Youth and Policy, n.87, 2005, pp.15-28. This study examined the ability of youth clubs--centre-based evening youth work programs--to provide guidance and support to young people who have experienced alienation and difficulty in...

The Brazilianisation of youth transitions in Australia and the UK?(Transition)(Brief article)
December 1, 2005... A. Furlong & P. Kelly, Australian Journal of Social Issues, v.40, n.2, 2005, pp.207-25. 'Brazilianisation' is a thesis which describes the shift in labour market conditions in 'first world' countries to be more like those of 'third world'...

Emerging adulthood: age-related tasks and underlying self processes.(Transition)(Brief article)
December 1, 2005... S. Shulman, B. Feldman, S. Blatt, O. Cohen & A. Mahler, Journal of Adolescent Research, v.20, n.5, 2005, pp.577-603. The transition from adolescence to adulthood has moved from being relatively linear to being more protracted and complex in...

What now? Working class lesbians' post-school transitions.(Transition)(Brief article)
December 1, 2005... Y. Taylor, Youth and Policy, n.87, 2005, pp.29-43. This study examines the relationship between class and gender in the post-school transitions of working-class lesbians in England and Wales. A group of 53 women (aged from 16 to 64) who...

Adolescent victimisation: testing models of resiliency by gender.(Resilience)(Brief article)
December 1, 2005... E.J. Christiansen & W.P. Evans, The Journal of Early Adolescence, v.25, n.3, 2005, pp.298-316. This study investigated four models of resiliency theory--the compensatory model, the challenge model, the risk-protective model and the...

Life in a time of uncertainty: optimising the health and wellbeing of young Australians.(Health)(Brief article)
December 1, 2005... R.M. Eckersley, A. Wierenga & J. Wyn, Medical Journal of Australia, v.183, n.8, 2005, pp.402-04. In March 2004, an interdisciplinary project was initiated by non-profit group Australia 21 to address perceived contradictory opinions held by...

Self-management in adolescents with chronic illness. What does it mean and how can it be achieved?(Health)(Brief article)
December 1, 2005... S.M. Sawyer & R.A. Aroni, Medical Journal of Australia, v.183, n.8, 2005, pp.405-09. Self-management is recognised as an important component of health care for individuals with chronic illnesses. It is, therefore, desirable for adolescents...

Breaking away from the medical model: perceptions of health and health care in suburban Sydney youth.(Health)(Brief article)
December 1, 2005... C.H. Kefford, L.J. Trevena & S.M. Wilcock, Medical Journal of Australia, v.183, n.8, 2005, pp.418-21. Young people generally encounter difficulties in accessing health services. In 2002-03, a study was undertaken to determine whether a...

The Western Australian aboriginal child health survey: findings to date on adolescents.(Health)
December 1, 2005... E.M. Blair, S.R. Zubrick & A.H. Cox, Medical Journal of Australia, v.183, n.8, 2005, pp.433-35. This descriptive survey of 1480 Aboriginals aged 12 to 17 years in Western Australia was part of a broader survey of 5289 Aboriginals aged...

Cultural diversity in adolescent healthcare.(Health)(Brief article)
December 1, 2005... D.L. Bennett, P. Chown & M.S-L. Kang, Medical Journal of Australia, v.183, n.8, 2005, pp.436-38. Given the high number of young people in Australia who were born overseas or come from non-English speaking backgrounds, multicultural...

National health and development youth policies: valuable exercises or bureaucratic niceties?(Health)(Brief article)
December 1, 2005... D. Hanna & S. Bagshaw, Medical Journal of Australia, v.183, n.8, 2005, pp.395-97. After a period of wide discussion, consultation and development, the New Zealand Government released its Youth Development Strategy Aotearoa in early 2002....

Youth Affairs Peak Organisations.(Directory)
December 1, 2005... Government Australian Government Youth Bureau Department of Family & Community Services Box 7788, Canberra Mail Centre ACT 2610 Ph: (02) 6212 9117 Fax: (02) 6212 9451 Email: renata.rustowski@facs.gov.au Youth...