Glossary

A

Adolescent
A person aged 13–17 years. The terms teenager and young person may also be used to describe an adolescent person.

Adult mental health service
An organisation that focuses on treating and supporting adults with diagnosed mental health difficulties. Refer also to Child and adolescent mental health service; Mental health service

Adversity
A state of hardship, difficulty or misfortune that negatively impacts daily life.

Advocate
Advocates argue for, act on behalf of, or lift up the voices of others in support of their interests.

Advocacy
Advocacy is arguing for, acting on behalf of, or lifting up the voices of others in support of their interests.

Anglo-Celtic
The term Anglo-Celtic generally refers to people or cultural practices that are associated with the Anglo-Saxon and Celtic peoples, who have historical roots in the British Isles. The term is often used to describe people of white European descent who are native English speakers and have a cultural heritage that is primarily derived from England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. (Source: Rahim, R. A., Pilkington, R., D’Onise, K., & Lynch, J. [2020])

Anxiety
Anxiety is an emotional and physical response to stress. Common bodily responses include a pounding heart, rapid breathing, butterflies in the stomach and a burst of energy. Anxiety is a natural and usually short-lived reaction to a stressful situation, associated with feelings of worry, nervousness, or apprehension.

For some people however, anxious thoughts, feelings, or physical symptoms are severe, upsetting, frequent, and interrupt daily life. If this happens it is important to seek help as early as you can.

B

Birthing parent
A term used to describe all who give birth, including women, transgender men and nonbinary people.

C

Cascading disasters
Cascading disasters refer to a sequence of two or more interconnected events where one disaster triggers or amplifies the impacts of subsequent disasters, intensifying the effects on children’s mental health by disrupting their sense of safety, stability, and access to support systems. Cascading is often used interchangeably with ‘concurrent’ (more than one event at a time) or ‘compounding’ (one event after another) to describe these disasters.

Chestfeeding
Describes the act of feeding your baby milk from your chest. Chestfeeding may be used as a way for transgender and nonbinary parents to describe how they feed and nurture their babies after childbirth by feeding them milk from their chest. It can also refer to using a feeding tube attached to the nipple to feed a baby if lactation (milk secretion from the nipples) is not possible.

Child
A person aged 0–12 years.

Child abuse
Harm to a child caused by a parent or other caregiver. The harm may be physical (violence), sexual (violation or exploitation), psychological (causing emotional distress), or neglect (failure to provide needed care) (Source: American Psychological Association).

Child and adolescent mental health services
An organisation that focuses on treating and supporting children and adolescents with diagnosed mental health difficulties. Refer also to Adult mental health service; Mental health service

Child-centred
Acknowledging and considering the experiences of children so that they are visible within service delivery. A child-centred approach places the child at the centre of decision-making, identifies and responds to their needs, and prioritises their preferences and wellbeing. Key characteristics of child-centred practice include respect for children’s rights and autonomy; collaboration, partnership and shared decision-making with children and their families; a holistic and strengths-based approach; developmentally appropriate and individualised care; and child safety.

Child-friendly space
A safe and child-centred space set up in an emergency, e.g. in an evacuation centre, to help support and protect children. Ideally in these spaces children can participate in organised and age-appropriate activities to play, socialise, learn and express themselves.

Child participation
The meaningful (i.e. active, safe and informed) engagement of children so they can contribute to decisions and take action on issues that affect their lives. This is best done through empowering children and nurturing positive relationships among children, adults and communities based on mutual respect and partnership at familial, local and national levels.

The Convention on the Rights of the Child (ratified by Australia in 1990) acknowledges children’s right to express their concerns; convey their perspectives; do things themselves if they can; and make decisions or be involved in decision-making about matters that are about them or that impact them.

Compassion
Compassion is when we try to understand a person’s experiences with care, respect and generosity, even if we have mot shared in these experiences or cannot fully understand them ourselves.

Continuum (i.e. Mental health continuum/Wellbeing continuum)
A continuum is a range with no clear boundaries between different points. A child’s mental health or wellbeing continuum has positive, or good, mental health at one end, and mental health difficulties that significantly impact on a child’s daily life and wellbeing at the other. There are several different continuum models that use different terms and symbols to show the range of children’s mental health experiences.

Culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD)
Culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) is a broad term used to describe communities with diverse languages, ethnic backgrounds, nationalities, traditions, societal structures and religions, and whose ancestry is other than Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander, or Anglo-Celtic. (Sources: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare; Joshi, A., & Gartoulla, P. [2022])

D

Depression
A mental health disorder characterised by ongoing low mood or loss of interest in activities (for at least two weeks), causing significant difficulties in daily life.

Diagnosis
The process of determining which disease or condition explains a person’s symptoms and signs of illness, as identified by a health care professional.

Disability
A total or partial loss of one or more bodily or mental functions. Disability may be something a person is born with or develops due to family heritage (genetics), accident or acquired illness. There are various types of disability, which may be visible or hidden, permanent or temporary, and vary in how they impact a person’s daily life.

Disaster
A serious disruption of the functioning of a community or a society at any scale due to hazardous events (such as those listed under the definition of hazard) interacting with conditions of exposure, vulnerability and capacity, leading to human, material, economic and/or environmental losses and impacts (UNDRR, 2017).

Disasters cause significant disruption, destruction and harm to individuals, communities and/or the environment, often resulting in widespread suffering, loss of life, property damage and the disruption of normal functioning.

Disaster risk
The potential loss of life, injury, or destroyed or damaged assets which could occur to a system, society or a community in a specific period of time, determined probabilistically as a function of hazard, exposure, vulnerability and capacity (UNDRR, 2017).

Disaster risk reduction
Strategies and policies aimed at preventing new disaster risk, reducing existing disaster risk and managing residual risk (UNDRR, 2017). These interventions also may strengthen economic, social, health and environmental resilience.

Disorder
A disturbance in physical or mental health functioning.

E

Early childhood
The first five years of childhood, with the first two to three years identified as an especially significant period of development.

Early childhood education and care (ECEC)
An umbrella term used to refer to all the different services offered to children prior to school attendance in Australia. These include childcare, preschool, long day care, creche, family day care, kinder and others. See also Early learning service.

Early learning service (ELS)
Services that provide regular full-time or part-time care and education for children from birth to five years of age. Also known as early childhood services. See also Early childhood education and care.

Ecology
A child’s ecology refers to the intersecting biological, social, relational and environmental factors that surround them.

Educator
A person who provides instruction or education in early childhood, primary or secondary settings; includes teachers.

Emergency planning
Involves identifying hazards, risks and consequences; and documenting and planning risk reduction (prevention and mitigation) strategies, preparedness arrangements, response and relief arrangements, and recovery arrangements.

Emotional regulation
Refer to self-regulation.

Empathy
The ability to put ourselves in the shoes of another and imagine what they may be feeling or thinking, usually in relation to difficult circumstances.

Evacuation
Moving people and assets away from a hazard before, during or after a disaster to a safer place in order to protect them. See also: Invacuation.

Evacuation centre
A building or place designated to provide temporary shelter and meet basic personal needs of people who are unable to seek safe shelter elsewhere during a disaster or other emergency. Centres are located in areas not expected to be affected by a hazard or unfolding disaster. In some jurisdictions the term ‘relief centre’ is more commonly used.

Externalising behaviours
Externalising behaviours involve directing emotions outward, manifested through observable actions such as yelling, hitting, running away or not following instructions. Externalising behaviours are more noticeable than internalising behaviours but can sometimes be labelled as ‘naughty’ or disruptive, potentially overshadowing the underlying emotional distress.

F

Family
There is wide variation in the make up of Australian families, which can include combinations of mothers, fathers, non-binary parents, grandparents, and non-biologically related parents and carers; siblings including half, step and foster siblings; and extended family members.

Family and domestic violence (FDV)
Family violence refers to violence between family members, including current and former intimate partners, parents and children, siblings, and others. Usually, one or more people will try to exert power and control over a family member/s through fear of physical, sexual, emotional, social, verbal, spiritual and economic forms of abuse.

Domestic violence refers to violence between current and former intimate partners.

Family violence is often the preferred term of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to describe domestic violence because it covers extended family and kinship relationships.

Family-focused
A family-focused approach acknowledges the importance of the family in shaping and supporting children’s mental health and wellbeing. Practice using this approach considers what all family members want and need and offers support that builds family relationships and strengths and equips them to navigate difficulties. It focuses on key processes that support parents and all family members to manage the impact of adversity on children and the whole family, and use their strengths, skills, know-how and capabilities to overcome challenges.

G

General Practitioner (GP)
A GP is a medical doctor who treats people (or refers them for treatment) for a wide range of medical conditions and health issues. They are often the first point of contact for anyone who feels sick or has a health concern.

Watch What is a GP?

Global majority
Global majority is a collective term for non-white people of African, Asian, Latin American and Arab descent; Indigenous people; plus people and groups who don’t experience white privilege. These people make up approximately 85% of the global population. ‘Global majority’ has been used as an alternative to terms that centre whiteness such as ‘culturally and linguistically diverse’ or ‘ethnic minority’.

For further explanation, read Who are people of the global majority and why it matters.

H

Hazard
A process, phenomenon or human activity that may cause loss of life, injury or other health impacts, property damage, social and economic disruption or environmental degradation (UNDRR, 2017). Hazards may be natural, anthropogenic (human-caused) and/or socionatural (associated with a combination of natural and anthropogenic factors including environmental degradation and climate change). They include, but are not limited to: cyclone, bushfire, extreme temperature, storm, earthquake, epidemic, war, violent crime and terrorism.

(Note: In Supporting infants and children in disasters: A practice guide we take an ‘all hazards approach’. The information provided can be used to support infants and children in relation to many different types of hazards. However, the guidance has been developed from research, practice, and lived experience in supporting infants and children in relation to natural and socionatural hazards, predominantly.)

I

Internalising behaviours
Internalising behaviours involve directing emotions inward, often resulting in withdrawal, excessive worry, guilt, shame or changes in sleep and interests. Internalising behaviours can be less visible and often go unnoticed, as children may appear outwardly calm while struggling with distressing thoughts and emotions. See also: Externalising behaviours.

Invacuation
The act of moving people to somewhere safe inside a building, when there is danger outside or in another part of the building. See also: Evacuation.

L

LGBTI / LGBTIQA+
An inclusive term for people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer, asexual or otherwise sexually or gender diverse.

M

Meaning-making (children)
The process that all children undertake in making sense of the important events in their lives.

Meaning-making (families)
Meaning making in families is about how children and parents create shared stories and understandings to make sense of their experiences and relationships together. It’s like building a common language and set of beliefs through talking, doing things together, and figuring out what matters to everyone.

Medicare
Medicare is a national insurance scheme that provides free or subsidised healthcare for Australians, known as Medicare benefits and sometimes referred to as rebates.

Mental health
This is a state of wellbeing in which ‘people can realise their potential, cope with the normal stresses of life, work productively, and contribute to their communities’ (source: World Health Organization [WHO]).

Mental health nurse
Mental health nurses are registered nurses with specialist qualifications in mental health.

Mental health service
An organisation with a focus on providing treatment, recovery or community health support for people with a diagnosed mental illness or other associated illness. Refer also to Adult mental health service; Child and adolescent mental health service

Mental illness
A wide range of diagnosed conditions that affect a person’s mood, thinking and behaviour.

N

Nature-based solutions
Actions that protect, sustainably manage and restore natural or modified ecosystems. They are intended to address the growing challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss, increased frequency of natural hazards as well as other human-made environmental disasters. In addition, nature-based solutions are beneficial for human wellbeing and biodiversity (UNDRR, 2020).

Neurodivergence
Neurodivergence is a way of describing a person whose brain develops or works differently for some reason. Their ways of thinking, and seeing and interacting with the world around them, are significantly different from what is considered ‘typical’. Differences are not necessarily disabilities.

Neurodivergence includes:
• autism spectrum disorder (ASD)
• attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
• dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia
• Tourette’s syndrome
• other neurological differences.

Neurotypical
Neurotypical is a way of describing a person who thinks and processes information in a similar way to others their age within their culture. They tend to develop and learn skills around the same time as their peers.

P

Parent
A parent is the primary adult caregiver of a child. In some instances, the term ‘parent’ may incorporate adult carers who are not the biological parents of the child but who have taken on a primary caregiving role such as grandparents, foster carers and kinship carers.

Parenting
Raising a child with protection and care through promotion and support of their physical, emotional, social and intellectual development from infancy to adulthood.

Pity
Pity is a feeling of sympathy for the suffering of another person which, unlike compassion, may view others as ‘less than’ and/or powerless to change their own circumstances.

Playgroup
Regular, carer-supervised meetings of groups of preschool children that provide developmentally appropriate creative and social play opportunities for children to develop their social and support networks. The two main kinds of playgroup are:

1. community playgroups, which aim to include all families; and
2. supported playgroups, which aim to support children and/or families with particular needs or vulnerabilities that are run by at least one paid organiser.

Postnatal depression
A form of depression that parents may experience in the weeks or months following childbirth. Symptoms can include feeling overwhelmed, sadness, crying and trouble sleeping, and if left untreated may interfere with their daily life and ability to care for and enjoy their baby.

Post-traumatic growth
Post-traumatic growth in the context of children in disasters refers to the positive psychological changes that some children may experience as a result of coping with traumatic events. This growth can manifest as increased resilience, a deeper sense of personal strength, improved relationships with others, and a greater appreciation for life. Although disasters can cause significant distress, some children may develop new perspectives and adaptive skills that help them navigate future challenges.

Potentially traumatic event
An event, series of events or set of circumstances that may be experienced as deeply distressing and disturbing. If the experience is overwhelming, it may result in a traumatic stress response. A potentially traumatic event generally involves exposure to actual or threatened death, loss of liberty, abuse (emotional, physical or sexual abuse or neglect) or physical harm. This term acknowledges that exposure to a disaster (or other life-threatening or adverse event) does not mean someone will develop a long-lasting psychological effect. A potentially traumatic event can be experienced directly or indirectly (e.g. witnessing a parent exposed to a life-threatening situation).

Preparedness
The knowledge, capability, and capacity developed by individuals, families, entities or whole communities to anticipate, respond to and recover from a current, imminent or likely disaster. Preparedness encompasses various actions taken ahead of time to be ready for a potential disaster and mitigate its impacts, as well as to recover after a disaster.

Professional support
A health professional who can help a person to work out what’s going on, what they’re feeling and what might support they might need to manage their health difficulties in daily life.

Protective factors
Characteristics and circumstances that reduce an individual’s risk of developing an adverse condition or disorder, or reduces the impacts of these. Protective factors can be biological or genetic, psychological (e.g. resilience, positive self-esteem), behavioural (e.g. physical activity), socioeconomic (e.g. education, employment) or environmental (e.g. geographic location, a strong social network). Protective factors buffer children from the negative effects of risk factors. Refer also to Risk factors.

Psychiatrist
A psychiatrist is a specialist medical doctor who assesses and treats patients with mental health difficulties, including medication in some circumstances. Referral (such as from a GP) is required to see a psychiatrist.

Psychologist
Psychologists study the human mind and human behaviour to understand how people, communities and societies think, feel, behave and learn. Armed with this understanding they work with people to empower them, help them thrive and support their mental health.

Learn more about psychologists in the videos:

• What is a psychologist with a special interest in families?
• What is a psychologist with a special interest in working with children?

Psychological First Aid
Involves providing psychosocial support to help people affected by an emergency, disaster or traumatic event to reduce distress immediately afterwards and help them cope moving forward.

Psychological wellbeing
Refers to the ability to understand yourself and your behaviours, cope with life’s challenges, and recognise and express your positive and negative feelings in a productive way. By developing self-acceptance and social skills, and having a sense of control over our environment and circumstances, we gain a realistic and therefore positive view of life, others and ourselves. Refer also to Social and emotional wellbeing.

Psychosocial
Describes how social, cultural and environmental factors interact and influence the human mind and behaviour (i.e. a person’s psychology).

Psychosocial care/support
Psychosocial care or support encompasses many different approaches and interventions intended to help individuals, families and communities regain or achieve healthy levels of psychological and social functioning and prevent the development of mental health difficulties. It includes practical or material, emotional and psychological support.

R

Recovery
The process of ‘coming to terms with the impacts of disaster and managing the disruptions and changes caused’ (AIDR, 2018). Sometimes this is also referred to as the phase ‘after’ disaster. Recovery includes restoration of built, environmental and economic elements, as well as social functioning and wellbeing.

Regulation
Refer to self-regulation/emotional regulation.

Residual risk
The disaster risk that remains in unmanaged form, even when effective disaster risk reduction measures are in place (UNDRR, 2017).

Resilience
Resilience is the ability to do well during or after an adverse event, or period of adversity. The single most important factor for developing resilience in children is the presence of at least one committed and supportive relationship with a parent, caregiver or other trusted adult.

In relation to communities that have experienced disaster, resilience is the ability to resist, absorb, accommodate and recover from the impacts in a timely and efficient manner.

Response
Actions taken directly before, during or immediately after a disaster to save lives, reduce health impacts, ensure public safety and meet the basic needs of the people affected (UNDRR, 2017; AIDR, 2023). Disaster response includes disaster relief, which involves providing material aid, emergency medical care and psychosocial support to meet individuals’ immediate and short-term needs.

Risk factors
Health risk factors are characteristics and circumstances that increase the likelihood of an individual experiencing a condition or disease. They can be biological or genetic (e.g. having a parent who has heart disease), behavioural, psychosocial (e.g. stress and trauma), socioeconomic (e.g. income or discrimination) or environmental (e.g. experiencing a severe weather event). Risk and protective factors interact to influence a child’s health and wellbeing. Refer also to Protective factors.

Routine
The things you usually do, and the general timeframe in which they are done, in the course of day-to-day life.

S

School counsellor
School counsellors guide students through learning and behavioural issues, and relationships with family, teachers and peers, either one-on-one or in a group setting. They also provide crisis support, course and career counselling and referrals to support services outside of school where required.

Watch What is a school counsellor?

Self-esteem
Self-esteem is the way you think and feel about yourself. It can change over time, depending on the world around you and how you make meaning of your experiences. For example, other peoples’ opinions (real or imagined), the value you place on external achievements and material objects, and comparing yourself with others can all affect your self-esteem. Low self-esteem can be associated with mental health difficulties.

Self-regulation/emotional regulation
Self-regulation is the ability to manage our thoughts, feelings and behaviours in ways that help us to function day-to-day and achieve our goals. Building self-regulation skills, particularly early in life, lays the foundation for children’s positive social and emotional development.

Self-worth
Self-worth is your opinion of yourself. It tends to be more consistent over time than self-esteem and is less dependent on outside factors. Self-worth is how you think and feel about your identity and value as a person (e.g. that you deserve respect, self-compassion and kindness). Positive self-worth can help to support your mental health during difficult times.

Sensory
Describes something you feel or perceive with the physical senses of touch, smell, taste, hearing and sight.

Separation anxiety
Where a child becomes excessively anxious or upset when separated from their parents.

Sleep hygiene
A recommended program of habits and behaviours, and an ideal environment for refreshing and healthy sleep.

Social and emotional wellbeing (SEW)
Social and emotional wellbeing refers to the way a person thinks and feels about themselves and others. It incorporates behavioural and emotional strengths and is a facet of child development (source: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare).

In broad terms, social and emotional wellbeing is the foundation for physical and mental health for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. It is a holistic concept which results from a network of relationships between individuals, family, kin and Community. It also recognises the importance of connection to Land, culture, spirituality and ancestry, and how these affect the individual (source: Commonwealth of Australia).

‘Social and emotional wellbeing’ is also used by some people from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds, who may have differing concepts of mental health and mental illness (source: everymind.org.au). Refer also to Psychological wellbeing.

Stressor
Refer to trigger.

Strengths
Personal qualities or conditions of an individual, family, community or society that reduce risk or adversity and promote mental health.

Substance abuse
Excessive use of psychoactive drugs, such as alcohol, pain medications or illegal drugs. It can lead to physical, social or emotional harm.

Support group/network
A group of people who meet to share information, experiences, problems and solutions, and by doing so provided group members with support.

T

Temperament
Temperament is the combination of mental, physical and emotional characteristics we are born with that shape how we naturally react and behave.

Trauma
An experience that is so distressing or disturbing it affects a person’s ability to come to terms with it. Traumatic experiences can be single incidents (e.g. a car accident) or ongoing experiences (e.g. chronic neglect).

Traumatic stress response
Adverse effects on an individual’s functioning and mental, physical, social, emotional or spiritual wellbeing as a result of their exposure to a potentially traumatic event such as a disaster or serious accident. Everyone’s traumatic stress response differs. For example, many people who experience a disaster have strong emotional or physical reactions that subside over a few days or weeks. Some experience more severe and continuing stress responses that can contribute to the development of diagnosable mental health conditions. The risks of a traumatic stress response, and of mental health difficulties, following a disaster are greater for infants and children who experience multiple adverse childhood experiences (continuing and/or cumulative).

Trigger
Sometimes referred to as a stressor, a trigger is an action or situation that can lead to an adverse (negative) emotional reaction. In the context of mental illness, triggers usually refer to something that has brought on or worsened symptoms.

V

Validation
The recognition or affirmation that a person or their feelings or opinions are valid and worthwhile.

Vulnerabilities
Attributes or conditions at the individual, family or social levels which increase the possibility that a child will experience adversity, including mental health difficulties.

W

Weather-related disaster
A disaster related to a weather, climate or water hazard. Examples include floods (caused by heavy rains associated with intense storms and cyclones), droughts (resulting from prolonged periods of low rainfall), devastation caused by extreme wind (cyclones, tornadoes, storms), bushfires and heatwaves.

Y

Young carer
A child or young person who provides care to another family member, usually a parent who:

• has a physical illness or disability
• experiences mental health difficulties
• is abusing substances
• is frail.

Young person
Refer to Adolescent.

References

Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience (AIDR). (2018). National principles for disaster recovery. Accessed 16 September 2024.

Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience (AIDR). (2023). Australian emergency management arrangements. Australian disaster resilience handbook collection. Accessed 16 September 2024.

United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR). (2017). The disaster risk reduction (DRR) glossary. Accessed 16 September 2024.

United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR). (2020). Nature based solutions for disaster risk reduction (Section 10). Sendai framework for disaster risk reduction 2015–2023. Accessed 16 September 2024.