Aim: Young people who are socially engaged with people who inject drugs are at higher risk of transitioning to injecting drug use. We aimed to examine rates of exposure to injecting among young people in an online survey, and whether exposure to injecting was related to hepatitis C(HCV) knowledge. Methods: A cross-sectional, online survey was…

Excessive alcohol consumption and heavy episodic drinking is increasingly common among female university students. This trend is concerning given that excessive alcohol consumption and binge drinking have several adverse effects, including increased levels of risky sexual behaviour. The findings presented here are the first step in establishing an…

Young people have higher rates of sexually transmissible infections (STIs) than the general population. Research has shown that there is a clear link between emotional distress, depression, substance abuse and sexual risk taking behaviours in young people. "headspace" is a youth mental health early intervention service operating in more…

Some young people are labelled more "at-risk" of harming themselves through various behaviours, such as having sex, than others. However, such distinctions between young people are ambiguous, as youth itself is imagined as inherently risky. At-risk discourse has fuelled the existing links between youth and risk, and morality and risk. It…

Tran-spectrum youth include those who are gender questioning, transgender, intersex, genderqueer, and androgynous. Drawing on data from an Australian study of more than 3,000 same-sex-attracted and trans-spectrum youth aged 14 to 21, this article compares a group of 91 trans-spectrum youth from the study to "cisgender" same-sex-attracted…

This groundbreaking book critiques the boundaries of where adult education takes place through a candid examination of teaching, learning, and working practices in the social periphery. Lives in this context are diverse and made through complex practices that take place in the shadows of formal systems: on streetscapes and farms, in vehicles and…

Sexual health promotion is of primary importance for young people in Australia, especially for vulnerable and at-risk young people. The authors first identify the important role of youth workers in engaging clients proactively around a broad range of sexual health issues, and then discuss real and perceived barriers that youth workers face in…

In Australia, Indigenous young women are more likely to become pregnant while in their teens than non-Indigenous young women. Factors such as poverty, educational outcomes and unemployment play a major role; however, there is little understanding of the attitudes of young women themselves with regards to pregnancy. This paper explores young…

This article offers an evidence-based argument for exempting the majority of LGBTTIQ youth from parental consent requirements in research studies. The argument is grounded in international research ethics principles and social science research studies of risks to the well-being of LGBTTIQ youth. A schema derived from consent concepts used in…

Research investigating patterns of intergenerational risk taking has produced evidence of increased risk taking of female adolescents compared with their mother's generation and a reduction in the traditional gap between levels of teenage male and female risk taking. The research is part of a larger, multistage project on factors affecting…

In Australia, there is a growing expectation that sexuality education should reduce the risks associated with youth sex by providing young people with information on protecting their sexual health. However, this information may be insufficient to ensure that young people make choices that support their sexual safety and autonomy. This paper…

Objective: To ascertain the association between pubertal stage and deliberate self-harm. Method: Cross-sectional survey of 12- to 15-year-olds in 300 secondary schools in the U.S. state of Washington in February-April 2002 and the Australian state of Victoria in June-August 2002. A total of 3,332 students in grades 7 and 9 provided complete data…

Adolescents comprise a substantial proportion of the at-risk population for sexually transmissible diseases (STD's) and AIDS. This study examines the link between sexuality education programs and student receptivity in Western Australian secondary schools. The researchers ask the question, "Given the same exposure to similar content and…

This study investigated psychosocial predictors of early pregnancy and childbearing in single young women, consistent with the Eriksonian developmental perspective. Two mail-out surveys assessing reproductive behaviour and sociodemographic, education/competence, psychosocial well-being, and aspiration factors were completed 4 years apart by 2635…