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Maternal mental health problems are common during the perinatal period and have been associated with several negative outcomes in children. However, few studies have examined the associations between maternal mental health problems and offspring outcomes among Indigenous people, and the findings across these studies have been inconsistent. This scoping review examined the birth and childhood (≤12 years) health and development outcomes of the children of Indigenous women with mental health problems.

Previous 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.

The transition to parenthood is a high-risk period for many parents and is an important period for child development. Research has identified that parental mental health, reflective functioning (capacity to consider mental states of oneself and others) and coparenting (capacity to work together well as a parenting team) may be particularly significant predictors of later child outcomes, however these factors have seldom been considered together.

Schools are increasingly recognized as important settings for mental health promotion, but it is unclear what actions schools should prioritize to promote student mental health and wellbeing. We undertook a policy review of global school-based mental health promotion policy documents from United Nations agencies to understand the frameworks they use and the actions they recommend for schools.

The incidence of mental illness is greatest among young adults, and those enrolled in higher education may be particularly vulnerable compared to the general young adult population. Many higher education institutions employ student support staff tasked with implementing strategies to improve student wellbeing and mental illness.

Positive maternal mental health during the perinatal period contributes to general well-being and positive emotional bonds with the child, encouraging an optimal developmental trajectory. Online interventions to enhance maternal well-being and develop coping skills, such as meditation-based interventions, can be a low-cost way to improve mother and child outcomes.

Dr Vincent Mancini, a Senior Research Fellow at The Kids Research Institute Australia, has been awarded a prestigious three-year Fellowship to develop and implement an intervention to support the welfare of regional WA fathers and families in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

The Kids Research Institute Australia is deeply grateful to The Yellow Umbrella Foundation for their generous gift of $38,453 to help fund a new mental health initiative for parents and caregivers of children living with intellectual disability.

The Kids Research Institute Australia warmly welcomes youth mental health researcher Associate Professor Kathryn Modecki.

An innovative and impactful three-year research partnership between Pilbara Minerals and The Kids Research Institute Australia has been established to support the mental health and wellbeing of fly-in fly-out (FIFO) workers and their families.