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The purpose of this study was to propose a benchmark model for the process of post-migration social adjustment based on the points of view and experiences of young individuals from forced-migration backgrounds.

Twelve young adults (18–24 years) living in Australia with an experience of forced migration and from various ethnic and cultural backgrounds were recruited. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and analyzed through thematic analysis.

The results showed that post-migration social adjustment requires effective interactions within individual, family and community domains. The participants proposed specific characteristics, enablers and barriers for each domain that can affect the process of social adjustment after the experience of forced migration.

Based on the reported points of view and experiences of participants in this study, the authors proposed an ecological model that can be considered as a preliminary benchmark to inform policymaking, research and services focusing on the social adjustment of young refugees. The practical implications for resettlement programs are discussed.

This paper aims to understand if buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) services, a digital type of credit that targets young consumers, acts as a protective or a risk factor for food insecurity among young consumers in Australia.

The study uses survey data from a representative sample of young consumers aged 18–24 from all internal states and territories in Australia. Propensity score matching is used to test two hypotheses: BNPL drives young consumers to food insecurity, and food insecurity leads young consumers to use BNPL.

There is evidence that BNPL use is driving young Australian consumers to experience food insecurity, but there is no evidence of food insecurity driving the use of BNPL services.

The evidence of BNPL driving young consumers to experience food insecurity calls for the adoption of practices and stronger regulation to ensure that young users from being overindebted.

Although the link with more traditional forms of credit (such as personal loans) and consumer wellbeing has been explored more broadly, this project is the first attempt to have causal evidence of the link between BNPL and food insecurity in a high-income country, to the best of the authors’ knowledge. This evidence helps to fill the gap about the protective or risky nature of this type of digital financial product, as experienced by young Australians.

Bipolar disorder is associated with poor mental and physical health outcomes, and therefore, it is crucial to research and develop effective interventions for this population (Grande et al., 2016). Unfortunately, research on the efficacy of current interventions shows only small improvements in symptoms and quality of life (Oud et al., 2016). Additionally, individuals with bipolar disorder face barriers to accessing care like social stigma, isolation and financial constraints (Blixen et al., 2016). This paper aims to introduce and examine the effectiveness of an accessible, peer-led group program, Mood Lifters (Votta and Deldin, 2022), in those who completed the program and also self-reported a diagnosis of bipolar disorder.

Mood Lifters is a 15-week, peer-led group program that approaches mental wellness from a biopsychosocial framework using strategies from a variety of evidence-based treatment methods (e.g. cognitive-behavioral therapy, dialectical behavior therapy, interpersonal psychotherapy, etc.). Participants meet once a week for 1 hour to review various mental health topics, including behavioral changes and insight into mood patterns. Individuals who participated in nonacademic groups in a company setting and self-reported a bipolar diagnosis were surveyed at the beginning and end of their program to measure various aspects of psychological functioning.

Results suggest that these individuals experienced significant improvements in depression, anxiety, social functioning and perceived stress, along with flourishing and positive and negative affect.

These findings are promising, given that bipolar disorder is historically difficult to treat (Grande et al., 2016). Based on this preliminary evidence, the authors have developed a Mood Lifters program specifically for individuals with bipolar disorder and are launching a randomized control clinical trial.

This conceptual/study protocol paper provides important context around the role of sport in Australia where sport provides aspects of community agency through participation, organisation and volunteerism. It provides a descriptive analysis of how sport assists young people in developing physical and mental ”fitness” through its community orientation. However, it also provides discussion around the potential of a “generation lost” to sport as a consequence of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The conceptual nature of this paper means that the data collection underpinning this research has not yet been conducted. However, given that we have applied for human research ethics along with having accrued sporting clubs and organisations eager to be involved in the research, we are planning to roll out this research by mid 2020. The design will be based on mixed methods approach whereby large-scale surveys together with focus groups and interviews will be central to the research data collection process. This research is unique given the nature of the time in which it exists. The last global pandemic was around 100 years ago when sport did not play such a significant role in society. Understanding the implications of the pandemic on young people and to the sporting clubs and organisations will be key in re-establishing sport as a central component of community agency towards the physical and mental health of young people. The urgency of understanding this is key to assisting the loss of potential young people to sport and the benefits that go with it to the individual, the community, and society as a whole.

This paper aims to critically review the intersection of searching and learning among children in the context of voice-based conversational agents (VCAs). This study presents the opportunities and challenges around reconfiguring current VCAs for children to facilitate human learning, generate diverse data to empower VCAs, and assess children’s learning from voice search interactions.

The scope of this paper includes children’s use of VCAs for learning purposes with an emphasis on conceptualizing their VCA use from search as learning perspectives. This study selects representative works from three areas of literature: children’s perceptions of digital devices, children’s learning and searching, and children’s search as learning. This study also includes conceptual papers and empirical studies focusing on children from 3 to 11 because this age spectrum covers a vital transitional phase in children’s ability to understand and use VCAs.

This study proposes the concept of child-centered voice search systems and provides design recommendations for imbuing contextual information, providing communication breakdown repair strategies, scaffolding information interactions, integrating emotional intelligence, and providing explicit feedback. This study presents future research directions for longitudinal and observational studies with more culturally diverse child participants.

This paper makes important contributions to the field of information and learning sciences and children’s searching as learning by proposing a new perspective where current VCAs are reconfigured as conversational voice search systems to enhance children’s learning.

Using a mixed methodology comprising interviews, case file analysis and descriptive statistics, this study aims to examine the experiences of all 43 young people in Wales subject to secure accommodation orders between 1st April 2016 and 31st March 2018.

Children in the UK aged 10–17 years who are deemed to be at a significant level of risk to themselves or others may be subject to a secure accommodation order, leading to time spent in a secure children’s home (SCH) on welfare grounds. Following a rise in the number of children in Wales referred to SCHs for welfare reasons, this paper describes these young people’s journeys into, through and out of SCHs, giving insight into their experiences and highlighting areas for policy and practice improvements.

Findings indicate that improvements in mental health support and placement availability are key in improving the experiences of this particularly vulnerable group of young people throughout their childhood.

Other practical implications of the study’s findings, such as improvements in secure transport arrangements, are also discussed.

While the findings are limited by the reliance on self-report methods and the size of the study, namely, the small number of young people with experience of SCHs who were able to participate, the findings build on the existing knowledge base around children’s residential accommodation and provide new insights into how best to support these children.

Having good relationships with friends and a trusting romantic partnership are extremely important for members of Generation Z. In social relationships with other young people, they experience solidarity and support with problems and crises, and learn to stand by others. Young people are therefore intensely concerned with how to enter into relationships and their expectations of them. Overwhelmingly, what they are looking for in friendships is similar across cultures – a set of shared values and similar hobbies. For romantic relationships, though, shared values and close proximity are key.