In Episode 6 of Series 2 of The Lifecourse Podcast we're talking about the impact on young people's lives of positive experiences and asking if it's time to shift the research and policy narrative away from the negative experiences facing those young people. Chris Garrington is joined by Rebecca Lacey, a researcher based at UCL, who's been investigating how positive experiences are linked with children and young people's physical and mental health and Ann Hagell from the Association for Young People's Health.

Further information

• Association for Young People's Health

• Taking a ‘positive’ look at child health development ,Child of our Time blog

• The effect of adverse and positive experiences on inflammatory markers in Australian and UK children is research by Naomi Priest and colleagues and is published in Brain, Behaviour and Immunity – Health

• Factors mitigating the harmful effects of intimate partner violence on adolescents’ depressive symptoms—A longitudinal birth cohort study is research by David Gondek and colleagues and is published in JCPP Advances

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In Episode 5 of Series 2 of The Lifecourse Podcast, Professor Scott Montgomery of Örebro University discusses research showing an increased likelihood of drug misuse and suicidal behaviour among young people who have lost a parent around the anniversary of their death. He is joined by child bereavement specialist Beck Ferrari and Olivia Clark-Tate whose father died nearly 10 years ago.

Further information

• Substance use disorder and suicide-related behaviour around dates of parental death and its anniversaries: a register-based cohort study is reserach published in The Lancet Public Health

• Drug misuse and suicidal behaviour more common on the anniversary of a parent’s death – new research is a blog by Scott Montgomery published in The Conversation.

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In Episode 4 of Series 2 of The Lifecourse Podcast, Dr Anja Heilmann from the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at University College London (UCL) talks about the physical punishment of children and how and where the law is being used to protect children against it. She's joined by Bruce Adamson, the Children and Young People's Commissioner for Scotland and children's rights advocate and former Irish Senator Jillian van Turnhout. Together they talk about how the law has been changed in Ireland, Scotland and Wales and discuss the prospects for change in England.

Futher information

• Equally protected?: a review of the evidence on the physical punishment of children Report by Anja Heilmann, Yvonne Kelly, Richard Watt, published by the NSPCC

• Physical punishment and child outcomes: a narrative review of prospective studies Journal article by Anja Heilmann, Anita Mehay, Richard G Watt, Yvonne Kelly, Joan E Durrant, Jillian van Turnhout and Elizabeth T Gershoff, The Lancet

• There is no longer a debate. End the physical punishment of children now! Blog, Child of our Time (UCL)

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