POWA's patron is Ricky Grace , Point Guard with the Perth Wildcats NBL basketball team and the Australian Boomers. Visit the official Perth Wildcats site here . To promote optimistic thinking and life skills in young people, to assist them in meeting the challenges and stresses of adolescence. The two programs currently being researched are the Aussie Optimism Program and the Resourceful Adolescent Program .
Depression is a common problem in children.
Associated with depression are problems such as low self-esteem, lowered academic achievement, impaired peer relations, involvement with drugs and alcohol, delinquent behaviour and suicide. Depressive symptoms in childhood are the largest risk factor for the future. There is evidence that the early onset of depressive symptoms in children can generate a pattern of reacting to adversity which sets up the risk of a lifetime of recurrence. Recent reviews of research suggest there is an increase in depression in young people and that it is occurring at a younger age. The links between depression and youth suicide make it even more concerning.