once in the past four weeks, 66 percent reported frequent bullying and 37 percent reported frequent bullying in multiple forms such as physical and verbal attacks. MCRI Dr. Lisa Mundy said puberty dominated the middle years, bringing a surge in physical, biological, social and emotional growth. "This is a sensitive and significant developmental period that we -- "For girls, cyber-bullying increased sharply in the early teens, but most bullying interventions have been classroom-based prevention programs focused on problem-solving and social skills." Additionally, half of all mental health issues emerge by age 14, with -- learning," he said. But Professor Patton warned remote learning and physical distancing during COVID-19 may have a disproportionate effect on students during this critical developmental phase. "Students who fall behind may find it very difficult to catch up without proper support. Physical distancing and further remote learning will undoubtedly affect relationships with friends and other students," he said. The policy brief found Australia required a health promoting framework to support middle year students aimed at strengthening social and emotional learning, improving the primary to secondary school transition, and enabling more effective links between education and -- preventing and responding to bullying and cyber-bullying and strengthening student-educator relationships * Creating positive physical and social environments in schools such as green spaces, integration of indoor and outdoor learning and modernising classroom layouts * Supporting mental health services integration and social and emotional skills development into the school system at all year levels -- 0 Exploring how activity in the hippocampal CA2 region encodes social interactions -- Recommended for you Strong social support decreases mental health problems in young adults 7 hours ago -- Dec 10, 2020 Preschool program linked with better social and emotional skills years later Dec 10, 2020