Highlights in child mental health research: August 2026

Prepared by the Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS)

Youth mental health and the role of parenting interventions

Youth mental health has worsened over recent decades. Parents play a critical role in shaping youth mental health, but evidence-based parenting supports are limited. This resource presents findings from a narrative review of research relating to youth mental health and parenting interventions. The findings highlight the complex and interconnected pressures affecting youth mental health, as well as the challenges parents face in supporting children to cope. It describes how evidence-based parenting interventions can help parents support adolescent mental health, especially when integrated with broader supports in schools, health services and community programs.

Family violence implications for women’s psychological wellbeing

Results from the Aboriginal Families Study show that women who experienced family violence during pregnancy, or when their children were young, were more likely to experience future psychological distress than other women. Strong cultural, community and relational support helped protect against psychological distress. Aboriginal-led healing and wellbeing programs can also help to support women who have experienced family violence and to promote recovery and wellbeing.

Understanding the relationship between unmet social needs and parental mental health in multicultural and regional/rural communities

Many families in culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) and regional or rural communities face difficulties accessing basic supports, including food, employment, childcare and health care. This study analysed data from parents/carers in New South Wales communities. Families were more likely to experience unmet needs when parents were experiencing high levels of psychological distress, were of culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) background, had lower parental education, were young (under 25 years of age), or where there were child developmental concerns. The authors stressed the need for services to be culturally sensitive and family-centred to routinely screen for social needs and parental mental health when working families experiencing disadvantage.

Mental health interventions for adolescent mothers

Adolescent pregnancy is associated with higher risks of mental health challenges, and adolescent mothers often face social stigma, economic instability and limited access to healthcare services. This systematic literature review identified key risk factors for adolescent mothers’ poor mental health and barriers to accessing mental health services. It also identified characteristics of effective interventions to support adolescent mothers, highlighting the importance of multifaceted, culturally responsive and accessible mental health interventions.

Online evidence-based parenting interventions delivered in real-world settings

Evidence-based parenting supports can be useful in addressing child behavioural and emotional problems. However, most supports adopt an in-person format, which is a barrier to accessibility for some families. This study evaluated the effectiveness of three online Triple-P parenting programs. Findings showed that online participation demonstrated improvements across a range of child and parenting outcomes, including a decrease in child behavioural and emotional problems and an increase in parenting confidence. This suggests that online delivery of parenting interventions may help improve accessibility for some families and communities and may be considered a first line of support.