Youth monitor: a national roundup of recent press reports on youth issues.

The information in Youth Monitor is sourced from the newspapers cited with each item. Youth Studies Australia provides details of the location of articles in the newspapers, but cannot provide the original articles.

ATTITUDES & OPINIONS

Torn between cultures

Many young people born overseas feel that Australia is now their home, but don't feel Australian all the time. Dr Greg Noble, acting director of the University of Western Sydney's Centre for Cultural Research, spoke to scores of young people from many cultures, as part of a study undertaken for SBS television last year. After asking about their feelings of identity, of culture and national belonging, Dr Noble found that, 'There is both a sense of Australia being home and yet that they are also made to feel not at home. That they feel Australian but are also strongly, profoundly attached to their cultural backgrounds. At the same time, they feel that they are constantly made to feel as though they must choose, as if these two sentiments are in opposition when, to them, they clearly are not' (Sydney Morning Herald, 17/12/05, p.19).

Concerns

Suicide, self-harm, and physical and sexual abuse topped a list of worries for young people recorded by Mission Australia, in their 2005 internet survey of more than 11,000 people aged 11 to 24. Suicide and self-harm were among the top three concerns of 41.3% of respondents, physical or sexual abuse were in the top three concerns for 37.5% of the sample, and the third-biggest worry was family conflict, cited by 34.8%.

The survey also showed that boys tended to be more concerned about alcohol and drugs, while girls were more often worried about suicide and self-harm (Australian, 8/12/05, p.6).

BULLYING & VIOLENCE

Children in domestic violence

The Australian Attorney-General's Department estimates that about one in three young people have witnessed family and domestic violence in a broad form. A report on the Joondalup Family Violence Court said that children were present in 73% of incidents of domestic violence. The CEO of the Patricia Giles Centre and convenor of the Women's Council for Domestic and Family Violence Services in Western Australia, Kedy Kristal, said, 'The knock-on effects for children can be devastating. Not only can they become victims of the abuse themselves ... but the chances of them going on to perpetuate the behaviours they witness in their parents are higher. One of the more alarming results has been a generational twist on family and domestic violence ... dating violence, [where] teenage girls desperate to hold on to relationships may find themselves controlled and abused by a domineering boyfriend' (West Australian, 26/10/05, p.8).

Help for victims of violence

In Western Australia, the state government as published booklets to offer support to young people experiencing dating violence, living in violent homes or worried about friends. The booklets include tips to identify abuse and contacts for services to help young people in trouble. A web site has also been created at www.youthsayno.wa.gov.au (West Australian, 26/10/05, p. 15).

Student misbehaviour

Figures released by the New South Wales Education Department show that in the first half of 2005, 4,672 students in the public education system were suspended for periods of between five and 20 days. This is only slightly fewer than the number of suspensions for the whole of 1999. Half of the suspensions were for physical violence towards students and teachers, and a third were for what the department called 'persistent misbehaviour'. A quarter of the suspensions were for Years 11 and 12; 20% were at primary schools. About 80% of all suspended students were male. Suspended students receive counselling at specialist centres before being allowed back to school. The NSW government was to open four more centres at the end of 2005. There were 156 expulsions, mostly for misdemeanours, such as taking weapons to school or assaulting teachers (Sydney Morning Herald, 26/10/05, p.1).

CRIME & JUSTICE

Boys stealing cars

Car thefts mostly involve "male teenagers, according to researcher Clive Williams, from the Queensland University of Technology. After interviewing 120 young Brisbane men in detention or subject to court orders, he found that teenage boys from underprivileged backgrounds looked to crime for excitement and to prove their masculinity. Disadvantaged boys as young as 13 stole cars to prove they were 'a real man', he said (Daily Telegraph, 26/10/05, p.17).

Young parents in detention

Almost 10% of young people in correctional facilities are parents. A report from the Australian Institute of Criminology said that 8% of males in juvenile detention had children of their own, while 1% of females in detention were mothers. The report's authors, Jeremy Prichard and Jason Payne, interviewed 371 young people aged between 11 and 17 who were in detention in 2004. The report said that one in three detainees had been abused at some stage in their life, almost all by parents or guardians. Nearly 70% of the detainees had had at least one person in their family who drank too much or used drugs regularly. About 36% had suffered physical abuse and 27% emotional abuse. The mean school-leaving age for juvenile detainees was 14 (Daily Telegraph, 28/10/05, p.27).

CULTURE & SUBCULTURES

We <3 shortcuts

IMing, or instant messaging, is influencing the way many teenagers speak and write. 'JK' for 'just kidding', 'SRY' for 'sorry', 'BRB' for 'be right back' and 'LOI' for 'laugh out loud'--these are just a few of the shorthand expressions being used in conversation as well as in online chat, emails and text messages. Typically, over the last 80 years, new English expressions began as speech, which then influenced writing, thanks to broadcast media, according to a Californian linguist, Geoffrey Nunberg. But now, he says, 'media like email, the web and text messaging have begun to shift the balance the other way.' Once young people become adept at IMing, they start to speak it too.

And what does the 'less than 3' in our heading mean? When typed, it makes a sideways heart--you can use it to cheer up a friend (Mercury, 7/1/06, p.8, Daily Telegraph, 11/1/06, p.8).

* Text-messaging is influencing the grammar used by high-school English students. In 2005, teenagers were apparently 10 times more likely to use non-standard English in written exams than in 1980, using expressions such as '2' instead of 'too' and 'u' instead of 'you'. Despite this, a two-year study by researchers from Cambridge University found that modern teenagers were using far more complex sentence structures, a wider vocabulary and a more accurate use of capital letters, punctuation and spelling than their 1980 counterparts. The quality of writing had also improved, according to one of the study's authors. The researchers used samples from thousands of English-language examinations sat by 16-year-olds in Britain in 1980, 1993, 1994 and 2004, and they compared students' written ability to express themselves accurately and clearly through a range of grammatical structures (Australian, 1/11/05, p.3, Courier-Mail, 3/11/05, p.17).

We're going to have it all ...

According to an eight-month study of the aspirations of generation Y (12-28-year-olds), many count Angelina Jolie and Donald Trump among their idols and believe that one day the lifestyles of the rich and famous will be theirs. The study's author, Catherine Heath, from the advertising agency George Patterson Y&R, said that the dream is to 'have it all, now'. 'They really believe they are all going to make it.' All the young people in her survey expressed their intention to run their own business and anything less than being a millionaire was not good enough.

Bram Williams, of advertising agency Euro RSCG, said in his paper, 'Marketing to Generation Y', that this generation will swap jobs and career paths annually because the chips are stacked in their favour. And with skills shortages and near-full employment, according to a recruitment adviser, young people can take their pick of jobs (Age, 17/12/05, p.7).

DEVELOPMENT

Late to bed, late to rise ...

Scientists have found that a person's 'sleep pressure' rate--the biological trigger that causes sleepiness--slows down in adolescence, explaining teenagers' preference for going to sleep later at night. A study published in the journal Sleep suggests that as children mature, their internal, chemically driven pressure to sleep builds up more slowly. Mary Carskadon, professor of psychiatry and human behaviour at Brown Medical School in the United States, said that clear patterns of sleep became apparent as her research team monitored groups of younger children and older teenagers. 'We've found [that] ... the mechanism in the brain that builds up sleep pressure is working at a different rate in adolescents than in prepubescent children.' Previous research has indicated that as children go through puberty, they struggle to go to bed early, which has been attributed to changes in the functioning of the brain's internal clock. The new finding indicates that in addition to the changes in their internal clocks, adolescents experience slower sleep pressure, which may contribute to an overall shift in their sleep cycles (Australian, 2/11/05, p.3, reproduced from the London Times].

Middle school blues

Author and psychologist Andrew Fuller believes that the traditional approach to education for students in Years 5 to 9 is unsuited to the way teenagers' brains develop. His study of more than 600 students showed that only a third of those in Years 5 to 9 found school interesting; more than a fifth never, or only occasionally, felt welcome, valued or respected. Recent neurological research showed that hormonal and chemical changes during adolescence affect sleep cycles, planning ability, motivation, concentration and susceptibility to stress, Mr Fuller said. The implication for early teenagers is lots of wonky thinking and erratic behaviour. 'The fall-off happens around grade 4. This is when their brains change--and schools keep bubbling along with the same structure they have been using. They don't grab them in a different way.' Schools need to focus more on developing skills for success in the future, such as social interaction and problem-solving, and to set projects that allowed students to blend different types of discipline, he said (Sydney Morning Herald, 7/10/05, p.3).

More adolescent woes

Changes in the brain at puberty that reduce children's capacity to recognise facial expressions may be a cause of the breakdown of relationships with parents. In particular, sadness and anger--two emotions commonly felt by parents of teenagers--often go unnoticed, according to researchers at the Institute of Child Health in London. Research leader David Skuse said: 'This probably reflects the rewiring of the brain that occurs because of genetic and hormonal changes during this period of development.' He tested the ability of 600 children aged from six to 17 to 'read' expressions in pictures showing happiness, sadness, disgust, anger, fear and surprise. The results, to be published in the Journal of Applied Statistics, showed that at the age of six, 70% of boys fell below the average score of girls in recognising facial expressions, and 20% of boys were worse than most girls. This has implications for teachers, Professor Skuse said, because 'unless teachers realise that some boys can't read faces well, trying to control them by relatively subtle means like a raised eyebrow, or by indicating that they are becoming angry, won't work' (Weekend Australian, 10/9/05, p.5, Daffy Telegraph, 10/09/05, p.9).

DISABILITY

Accepting truancy

According to the Sunday Age, Victorian schools are sanctioning truancy by students with severe behavioural problems, in the absence of a whole-of-government approach to dealing with mental health and disabilities in early childhood. The paper estimates that at least 200 Victorian students at any time are missing classes or attending part time because schools cannot accommodate their learning and other needs. The estimate is based on research by the Association for Children with a Disability, which has helped more than 600 families struggling with children with severe behavioural problems. About one in five families reported schools dealing with behavioural problems through suspension, expulsion and informal agreements for students to attend part time. More than 8,000 children in Victoria exhibit extreme behaviour or are in immediate danger of progressing to extreme levels, the Association said. It spent two years researching why these children's behaviour often deteriorated in their school years. The Association presented draft copies of a report, 'The Behaviour Challenge', to the Education Department and Education Services Minister in April 2005, recommending that the department monitor and document reduced attendance and arrangements involving students with behavioural problems (Sunday Age, 23/10/05, p.5).

DRUGS

Family influence on drinking and smoking

Brothers and sisters are more powerful role models than parents or friends when it comes to teenage drinking and smoking, researchers have found. The study of 1,370 Brisbane 14-year-olds by researchers from the University of Brisbane and the University of Washington was reported in the Journal of Drug Issues. It found that 13% smoked and 36% drank alcohol, but 40% of those with older siblings who smoked also lit up, and 53% whose older siblings drank followed suit. The author of the report, Dr Abby Fagan, wrote that tobacco and alcohol prevention programs should move from a focus on parent-child communication to siblings and their potential influence (Herald Sun, 16/1/06, p. 12, Courier-Mail, 18/1/06, p.30, Adelaide Advertiser, 20/1/06, p.29).

Cannabis and mental illness

The connection between drug use and mental illness was frequently reported and commented on--especially in The Australian--during November 2005. The Australian Government, members of state parliaments and the Australian Medical Association called for tighter legal sanctions against growing and possessing cannabis. A comparison of state penalties for cannabis possession, use and supply showed considerable variation between jurisdictions, The Australian said.

Professor Ian Hickie, executive director of the Brain and Mind Research Institute, warned of the association between amphetamine-related drugs and schizophrenia and other psychotic illnesses. He said the neurobiological effects of drug and alcohol abuse on developing brains peaks between the ages of 15 and 25, which is also the peak age for onset of mental illness.

According to Dr Andrew Campbell of the New South Wales Mental Health Review Tribunal, four out of five people with incurable schizophrenia smoked cannabis regularly between the ages of 12 and 21. Dr Campbell believed there was a need for a national campaign about the problems and dangers associated with teenage use of marijuana.

Paul Dillon of the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre said that young people's use of cannabis was different from that of their parents and other older people. 'They are smoking cannabis more, smoking more often, and smoking stronger parts of the plants,' he said.

The Australian cited a report that 25% of 12-17-year-olds had used cannabis at least once in their lives and 39% of 16-17-year-olds had tried it. The influence on adolescent children of parents using drugs was also widely discussed.

The Australian Government announced that it would create an advisory group to look at Australia's drug problems, to be chaired by the parliamentary secretary for health (Weekend Australian, 29/10/05, p.1, West Australian, 1/11/05, p.7, 2/11/05, p.24, Australian, 2/11/05, p.8, 4/11/05, p.14, 9/11/05, p.10, 14/11/05, p.3 & p.10, 21/11/05, p.3, Advertiser, 23/11/05, p.21, Age, 24/11/05, p.17, Mercury, 25/11/05, p.27).

EMPLOYMENT

Work and happiness

A report published by the Australian Council for Educational Research, Life Satisfaction of Young Australians, says that the satisfaction young people derive from having a job is not just the result of earning an income, but that happiness comes from being purposefully occupied. The report also warns about the trend towards part-time and casual work, saying that people are who are not occupied full time are less happy with their lives than those who are. Researchers measured the degree of career and general satisfaction of more than 6,000 21-year-olds as they made the transition from school to further study and work. The Council's deputy chief executive, John Ainley, said that the happiest of all were those who were working more than 20 hours a week and also studying.

The busiest young people reported high levels of career satisfaction and general life satisfaction. Satisfaction on both measures declined as the number of hours a person spent in paid employment or study fell, those not engaged in work or study at all being the most unhappy. The report warns that young people at a loose end could be vulnerable to mental health problems, depression and anxiety. The Dusseldorp Skills Forum said that those who are working part-time, who are unemployed or who are not in the labour force should be considered at risk. One in five Australians aged 20-24 falls within these categories. 'What we are finding, is that, of those who are working part time, a great majority are seeking additional work,' a senior consultant at the Dusseldorp Skills Forum said (Australian Financial Review, 28/10/05, p.21, Canberra Times, 28/10/05, p.7).

Women out of work

Teenage females have a harder time finding work than teenage males, despite outperforming them at school. They are more often in part-time jobs, unemployed or out of the labour force, even as a recent boost in trade training has increased the number of young men in apprenticeships. The Dusseldorp Skills Forum's annual How Young People are Faring report showed that 17% of 15-19-year-old females were neither studying nor working full time, compared with 12% of males of the same age. Of females aged 20-24, 30% were not fully engaged in work or study, compared with 19% of males. The young women tended to be in part-time or casual work, or out of the labour force caring for family members. A researcher with DSF, John Spierings, said the difference between the sexes was the largest since 1989 and markedly higher than in recent years (Australian Financial Review, 17/11/05, p.8, Sydney Morning Herald, 17/11/05, p.3).

Casual employers

Almost 40% of young people aged 12-16 do regular work, according to the NSW Commission for Children and Young People. The Australian Government has argued that the deregulation of the labour market and introduction of streamlined Australian Workplace Agreements (AWAs) will create more entry-level jobs for teenagers and others. But research from the Commission suggests that young people can be vulnerable. Already it is common for young people--even those who have been working regularly--to be sacked when they turn 18 and their award pay increases. A senior researcher for the Australian Centre of Industrial Relations Research and Training, Gillian Considine, says that if the awards decline in number, as the Government proposes, and AWAs become more pervasive, youth pay rates will be eroded (Australian Financial Review, 1/11/05, p.61).

FAMILIES

Access time

Changes to the Family Law Act introduced into Parliament in December were to put new emphasis on 'the right of children to know both parents' as well as the right to be protected from harm, wrote Adele Horin, a columnist with the Sydney Morning Herald. 'They will require the court to consider ordering the children to spend equal time with both parents if it is in their best interest and practical; or, if not, to spend "substantial and significant" time with the non-resident parent. And the changes will mean stricter enforcement of parenting orders,' Ms Horin commented. She noted that the counselling agencies Relationships Australia and UnitingCare Unifam had held a conference in Sydney to explore how to improve services to fractured families where children didn't want to visit their non-resident parent.

According to United States research, 20-25% of children in disputed custody cases, and up to 15% in non-disputed cases, are strongly aligned with one parent and reject the other. There appears to be room to improve contact between Australian children and their fathers, Adele Horin said. 'One in three children from split families do not see their father over a 12-month period, research by Patrick Parkinson, professor of law at the University of Sydney has shown. Big proportions of both men and women wanted their children to have more contact with the non-resident parent' (Sydney Morning Herald, 10/12/05, p.24).

Health

Period pain

The prevalence of menstrual disorders among teenagers is potentially higher than has been thought. About 72% of 16-18-year-old girls participating in a Canberra survey reported moderate to severe pain during their periods and 73% reported mood changes. The survey of over 1,000 respondents was conducted by the University of Canberra and the Canberra Hospital's Centre for Nursing and Midwifery Practice. The report, Menstrual Disorders of Teenagers, also said that 96% reported experiencing symptoms of premenstrual syndrome. Considering the results of the study, the reported school absence rate of 26% is not surprising, one of the researchers commented (Canberra Times, 5/11/05, p.14).

Not facing fat facts

Almost 80% of parents believe that more blame for the increasing rate of childhood obesity could be given to parents than to the media and fast food outlets. Yet only one in 10 parents who responded to the latest GoodHealth survey admitted to having an overweight child. Figures suggest that at least one in five children is overweight. The study also showed that overweight children drank more soft drinks than those of normal weight, and that one in five parents let toddlers and pre-school children drink them. (Some toxicologists claim that soft drinks often contain more than 10 teaspoons of sugar per serve.) Almost a third of parents in the survey said that soft drinks were one of the main beverages drunk by children. Of families with at least one overweight child, 48% said soft drinks were the main form of refreshment. A nutritionist with the West Australian Health Department, Christina Pollard, said that a 2003 report into children's activity levels found that more than two-thirds of parents with overweight or obese young children wrongly believed their children were of acceptable weight (West Australian, 23/11/05, p.11).

Sedentary children

Researchers at the Queensland University of Technology reported that Australian secondary school students now have 600 fewer hours of physical activity per year than their counterparts 30 years ago. Primary school children have 300 fewer hours of physical activity a year than those of 1975. Students now were more likely to face an early death because of lost exercise opportunities, one of the researchers, Ken Edwards, said. His comments on the reasons for this included a removal of about 30 hours of physical education and sport from the primary curriculum, children being driven to school because of security fears, fewer children riding to school, and exercise time losing out to extra academic classes (Age, 9/1/06, p.3, Canberra Times, 9/1/06, p.3, Daily Telegraph, 9/1/06, p.5, Sydney Morning Herald, 9/1/06, p.3).

* Forty per cent of Western Australian children don't get as much as 30 minutes of exercise a day, and 4% get no exercise at all in an average week. The GoodHealth survey by the health fund HBF and the West Australian newspaper also revealed that 22% exercised on four to five days a week and 17% on one to three days. The Heart Foundation's national physical education manager, Trevor Schilton, ascribed the lack of activity to home entertainment in the form of computers, DVDs, mobile telephones and television. The survey also showed that incidental exercise was decreasing: six out of 10 children surveyed travelled to and from school without any exercise, and almost half travelled by car all the way. About 80% of private school children reported travelling to and from school without any exercise, compared with 44% of state school children (West Australian, 22/11/05, p.13).

INCOME & EXPENDITURE

Youth debt

In a survey by the NSW Office of Fair Trading, 60% of 15-25-year-olds said debt was only slightly less problematic than alcohol and on a par with drugs, according to an article by Julie Macken and Joyce Moullakis in the Australian Financial Review. Marie Flood, manager of financial services at University of Technology Sydney's Student Services, agreed that debt is a problem for young Australians, but said that the picture is complex. 'We see a lot of kids with problematic debt but at the same time our student loan fund is in less demand today than in previous years. I think students are debt-averse, which is why we have kids trying to work full time while studying full time. They see the cost of HECS as a long-term investment but they are very stressed and far from being comfortable about it.'

The results of a survey conducted by the Australian Vice-Chancellors Committee, Paying Their Way, showed that more than 70% of full-time undergraduates were in paid employment during a semester in 2000, up from 50% in 1984. Almost 90% of part-time students in 2000 were in paid employment; 12% of students obtained a repayable loan to continue their studies. And in 2004, another survey found that 10% of students faced a debt of more than $40,000 on graduation. Andrew McCallum, president of the Australian Council of Social Service commented, 'With student and youth payments as low as $165 a week, it's not surprising that some young people are in debt just to pay the basic essentials: rent, food and education fees'. Several banks and credit unions encourage young people to open accounts with low or no transaction fees, and to take out credit cards or personal loans with initial fees waived (Australian Financial Review, 12/11/05, p.17).

MENTAL HEALTH

Call for investment in mental health treatment

The Mental Health Council of Australia, the Brain and Mind Research Institute and the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission have jointly published a report, Not for Service. It says that serious funding constraints force mental health services to provide little more than palliative care and that treatment has to be rationed despite evidence to show where it will do most good. More than 75% of people who develop a serious mental illness have their first episode before the age of 25, while the 18-24 age-group has the highest incidence of mental health problems. The consequences of disorders during this critical development period can be profound, and if the disorders are untreated or poorly treated, they may lead not only to personal and family distress, but also to poor academic performance, unemployment, substance abuse, disability or premature death, said Patrick McGorry, professor of psychiatry at Melbourne University and executive director of Orygen Youth Health. Some responses are being developed and supported by state and federal governments, Professor McGorry wrote. Victoria hosts an evidence-based model of care for teenagers and young adults that has been exported internationally, and could be introduced across Australia (Age, 24/10/05, p.13).

* Youth mental health services will receive a $54 million increase nationwide in a bid to shore up the mental health system and stop young people from developing long-term psychiatric problems. The Australian Government's new National Youth Mental Health Foundation is to improve the coordination of services, bringing together mental health workers, GPs, psychiatrists and drug and alcohol workers -in many cases under one roof--in up to 50 centres around Australia.

Another $15 million is being allocated to allow more mentally iii teenagers and young adults to see allied health professionals--70% of young people's health problems are mental health problems, according to Professor McGorry, whose research centre is to run the new foundation. Fourteen per cent of 12-17-year-olds and about 27% of 18-24-year-olds had a mental disorder in any 12-month period, he said. Mental disorders and related substance abuse disorders accounted for 60% of non-fatal diseases among people aged 15-24 and were therefore the single most important health problem affecting young people, he said. Only one in four young people with mental health problems currently receive professional help (Australian, 13/12/05, p.3, Sunday Age, 8/1/06, p.6).

Meditating for peace of mind

The national mental health initiative beyond-blue is funding a study by Melbourne and Monash universities to determine whether mindfulness meditation--the ability to tame anxious thoughts by focusing en the moment --can help treat mental health conditions in young people. Dr Craig Hassed, senior lecturer in the Department of Medicine at Monash University, explained that mindfulness teaches people to become a detached observer of anxious thoughts, instead of reacting to them. 'With practice, you can cultivate an ability to accept that the thoughts are there but remain detached and more objective about them,' he said. With escalating rates of anxiety and depression among adolescents and concerns about treatment with medication, the hope is that mindfulness-based cognitive therapy will be as effective with young people as research suggests it is with adults (Sydney Morning Herald, 24/11/05, p.3).

Abortion and mental disorders

Having an abortion as a young woman raises the risk of developing mental health problems later, according to the findings of a detailed and long-term study published in the Journal of Child Psychiatry and Psychology. The findings come from the Christchurch Health and Development Study of 1,265 New Zealand children tracked since birth in the 1970s. The researchers found that 41% of the more than 500 women remaining in the cohort had become pregnant by the age of 25. In total, 90 pregnancies were terminated. At age 25, 42% of the women who had had an abortion had also experienced major depression during the previous four years, which was nearly double the rate of those who had never been pregnant. The risk of anxiety disorders was also increased. Women who had had at least one abortion were twice as likely to drink alcohol at dangerous levels compared with those who had not terminated their pregnancies, and three times as likely to be dependent on illicit drugs (Sydney Morning Herald, 3/1/06, p. 1).

Self-harming

The Queensland Injury Surveillance Unit reported in its Injury Bulletin last year that between 1998 and 2004, more than 500 young people aged 10-16 were taken to emergency departments in Queensland with self-inflicted injuries. Given that not all emergency departments took part in the survey, and that not all young people who self-harm are taken to hospital, the real figure is likely to be higher. In 2005, Kids Help Line received over 8,300 calls nationally from young self-harmers. The majority were from children cutting themselves, but the second most common incident was paracetamol abuse (Courier-Mail, 19/11/05, p.24).

ROAD SAFETY

Driveway accidents

The NSW Commissioner for Children and Young People found that between 1996 and 2003, 31 children died in driveways. Of these, 19 deaths involved four-wheel drive (4WD) vehicles. A study published in the Medical Journal of Australia reported that driveway accidents are a significant hazard, accounting for 12% of child pedestrian injuries and 8% of child vehicle deaths. It concluded that 4WD vehicles were more likely than passenger cars to run over children. Light commercial vehicles and 4WDs accounted for about 30% of registered motor vehicles in NSW but were involved in nearly two-thirds of the deaths in driveway accidents, giving them a 2.5 times greater risk of fatally running over a child compared with other vehicle types. A consultant engineer and safety expert, Michael Paine, has examined the reasons why, and commented that a public campaign conducted by state roads bodies appeared to be cutting the driveway accident rate. 'The number of cases has dropped dramatically in the last two years,' he said (Australian, 26/10/05, p.20).

Country road deaths

In Victoria, young country drivers are over-represented in the state's road toll. They make up a quarter of Victoria's 16-25-year-olds but in the five years to 2005 accounted for nearly half the road deaths in that age group. In Gippsland alone, nine young men under 25 were killed in road accidents in the eight years to 2005. At one school, after two students died within six weeks, the principal organised a forum with local police, VicRoads, the Transport Accident Commission, a psychologist, youth workers and students. The school was already funding road and driver safety programs, but the principal felt that the message simply wasn't getting through. Students at the forum said that while they paid attention to the safety programs, the consequences of risky behaviour didn't hit home until their friends died.

A 1999 study published in the Medical Journal of Australia noted that riding on the load tray of a utility, often after drinking alcohol, was a recognised pastime among young men. The consequences could include serious head injuries and probable permanent neurological injuries for the survivors of accidents. Distance is another factor in country driving, where there is a need to drive further from home to educational institutions and shops, to visit friends or to transact business. Speed limits are often higher than in towns and there is limited or no access to public transport (Age, 12/12/05, p.11).

* As Youth Studies Australia went to press, newspapers were reporting that six teenagers were killed after a car accident in north-west Victoria on a Saturday night. The young people were walking on the edge of a country road to a party, when the car hit them at Cardross, near Mildura. Seven other young people were injured in the accident (Age, 20/02/06, from the internet).

SEXUALITY

Sex education review

A Victorian report on the sexual and reproductive health of teenagers recommended auditing every primary and secondary school in the state to identify what students are taught during sex education classes, and set minimum standards for teachers running the programs. The report was prepared by the Royal Women's Hospital, Family Planning Victoria and the Centre for Adolescent Health. About 20% of the Victorian population are aged between 12 and 25. More than 50% are sexually active by the age of 16, and 20% of young women say they were coerced into their first sexual experience. The report also recommends compiling an annual report on the health of young people, including notification rates for sexually transmissible infection, abortion rates and frequency of contraception use (Age, 8/11/05, p.5; see also Sunday Age, 13/11/05, p.19).

Oral sex

Research shows that more young people are having oral sex than a decade ago, and that young women's sexual behaviour is moving closer to that of men. A survey of university students found that oral sex is becoming mainstream, and women are receiving as well as giving. Over 10 years, researchers from the University of New South Wales surveyed more than 4,000 first-year students aged 19 or younger. In each year of the survey, more than half the students were virgins, but from 1990 to 1999, there were significant increases in the number of students engaging in a range of sexual practices with regular and casual partners. Dr Juliet Richters, a co-author of the study, said some young people used oral sex as a 'delaying tactic', having it instead of penetrative sex, and for others it was a natural adjunct to intercourse (Sydney Morning Herald, 15/10/05, p.7, Sydney Morning Herald Good Weekend, 11/02/06, p.25).

TECHNOLOGY

Using the Internet

An 18-month study by Flinders University researcher Mubarek Ali of 114 Adelaide secondary students found that they spent an average of 13 hours a week on the internet. More than half of the 13-17-year-olds surveyed had no parental guidance on using chat rooms. Less than 7% of the boys reported parental concern over their chat room participation, compared with almost 40% of girls. Over 25% of the students used the Internet daily and considered it an important part of their lives; a third of respondents were 'in the process of becoming psychologically addicted'.

Dr Ali found that chat room exchanges could be a source of stress to adolescents suffering from emotional and psychological abuse, as bullying is frequent. 'We could see that boys were very alone in their adventures in chat rooms,' Dr Ali said. The popularity of chat rooms peaked at 67% among young people aged 12-14.

Access to chat rooms is likely to increase as more children use mobile phones with an Internet facility, Dr Ali observed. In 2006 he will undertake a larger, national study of risk-taking behaviour among adolescent users of the Internet (Australian, 22/11/05, p.31, Age, 23/11/05, p.3, Sydney Morning Herald, 23/11/05, p.3, Age, 24/11/05, p.18).

* A national survey by NetAlert (an internet safety advisory body) and Ninemsn has found that while 71% of parents believe their children use the Internet for research, only 23% of teenagers surveyed said they actually did so; 42% of the 16-18-year-olds surveyed said they downloaded some content they did not want their parents to know about. About 63% of all teenagers in the survey said they had downloaded files without permission; 40% said they would potentially meet in person someone they had 'met' online, and only 12% would ask parents' permission to do this.

Apparently parents were less likely to check the online activity of their children if the computer was in a non-social room, such as a bedroom or home office. The 'Online Safety for Teens' survey was based on 3,490 responses from parents and 8,918 responses from children. NetAlert chair, Karyn Hart, said the figures illustrate the need for continuing Internet safety education for children of all ages (Daily Telegraph, 16/12/05, p.24, Herald Sun, 16/12/05, p.45, Mercury, 16/12/05, p.22).