December 14, 2021
Boys’ body image
Professor Charlotte Markey will soon be publishing her fourth book, Being You: The Body Image Book for Boys. December’s Researcher of the Month is slightly different to normal, as the piece of work that we are highlighting is not actually out yet! But we’ve been awaiting it with eager anticipation, and wanted to tell you about it now. Being You: The Body Image Book for Boys, is due for publication on April 7th, 2022, and has been written alongside psychologists Daniel Hart and Douglas N. Zacher. It is an easy-to-read, evidence-based guide to developing a positive body image for boys aged 12+. It covers all the facts on puberty, diet, exercise, self-care, mental health, social media, and everything in-between.
Summary
In the words of the book itself, “Boys will find answers to the questions most on their mind, the truth behind many diet and exercise myths, and real-life stories from other boys. Armed with this book, they will understand that muscles don’t make a man – it’s enough simply being you!”
Body image is an incredibly important issue, for boys as well as girls, and should be given the serious consideration that it deserves. Boys are generally not expected to experience body dissatisfaction, and so parents and educators can often miss the signs of disordered behaviours. However, research shows that 1/3 of teenage boys are trying to bulk up due to body dissatisfaction and that body dissatisfaction is a risk factor for eating disorders in all young people. Boys and men account for 1/4 of all eating disorders. Helping to ease body related worries common to boys is therefore crucial.
We already own and recommend Professor Markey’s Body Image Book for Girls and her new book for boys is set to share the same accessible style and appealing layout, which will entice even the most reluctant teen to take a peek. It also contains lots of retrospective insights from older teens about what formative issues they faced, when they first worried about their bodies or appearance, how they have since coped with these issues and what they might recommend to younger teens. Although these aspects of the book are anecdotal, they really help to normalise the concerns that most young people have.
You can pre-order Professor Markey’s new book here.
Implications
Body image is an issue that we should all pay significant attention to, from an early age. It impacts on everything, from our social interactions to our mental health. Parents should reflect on attitudes towards ‘body talk’ and eating in the home. Model that you consider your own body to be ‘good enough’ and try to ensure that food is associated with nourishment, rather than reward.
Body image issues may be more tricky to spot in boys than girls. Watch out for an overwhelming concern with developing muscularity or diet control that impacts on sleep, schoolwork or friendships. Behaviours that at first glance appear to be healthy, may not be! Stress that the idealised bodies often depicted in the media are not realistic goals.
For Tooled Up parents, we have lots of resources in the library on cultivating positive body image, which are relevant for young people, whatever their gender. Take a look at some of the related resources listed here as a starting point.
Professor Charlotte Markey
Professor of Psychology
Professor Charlotte Markey’s research focuses on individual’s eating behaviours, body image and health. Her work has garnered widespread media attention and she has been featured in and interviewed by numerous high profile publications and TV shows, including the New York Times, The Economist, The Today Show and Time Magazine. Her first book, Smart People Don’t Diet, was called ‘possibly the best book about weight loss ever written’ by Scientific American. Professor Markey has long been involved in community efforts to educate parents and children about eating, body image and health. She speaks in schools and has served on task forces charged with improving school nutrition programmes. Her third book, The Body Image Book for Girls, Love Yourself and Grow Up Fearless, for girls aged 9-15, came out in 2020.
Professor Charlotte Markey
Professor of Psychology
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Sep 11, 2026
Whose Stories Make History? Teaching Black British History Through Billy Waters
What can we learn about a historical period when we shift our attention away from its most famous figures and look instead at a life that has largely been overlooked? Billy Waters is not a household name, but his life offers a fascinating route into questions of Black British history, identity, poverty, disability and representation. Teachers can now explore his story with students through Billy Waters: Songs from the Shadows, a set of free educational resources featuring a 20-page graphic novel and digital soundscape for young people aged 11–16. Born in the late eighteenth century, Billy Waters was a Black sailor and disabled veteran who later became a well-known street musician and performer in nineteenth-century London. His life provides a particularly rich lens through which to explore the society in which he lived, and the lives and experiences that have often received less attention in traditional accounts of the past. The Billy Waters Project brings together historians, artists and musicians (some of whom are our new Researchers of the Month) to explore his story in imaginative and accessible ways. Drawing on the limited and sometimes ambiguous evidence that survives about his life, the resources invite young people not only to learn about Billy, but also to think about how histories are constructed, whose stories are preserved and how power, identity and representation shape the way we understand the past.
Aug 14, 2026
Deepfakes and Damage: Helping Schools Respond to AI-Generated Image Abuse
When we hear the word 'deepfake', many of us might think of celebrities, political misinformation, or the kind of AI 'slop' that now features heavily on our social media feeds. We might be less likely to think about school pupils. Yet emerging research suggests that AI-generated sexual deepfakes are an issue that schools increasingly need to understand and be prepared to address. AI-facilitated abuse is a growing concern, with reports of deepfake imagery being used maliciously against both pupils and teachers. Whilst anyone can be targeted, research suggests that sexual deepfake abuse is strongly gendered, with girls and women disproportionately affected. Within UK schools, AI-facilitated image-based sexual abuse most commonly involves groups of boys taking existing photographs of female peers from social media and using generative AI tools to create fake nude images. There have also been reports of criminal gangs targeting schools, threatening to take publicly available images of children from school websites and social media and turn them into sexually explicit images for the purposes of blackmail. In the UK, producing this kind of material is a criminal offence, though globally, laws are not consistent. Whilst deepfake images are not real, the harm they cause is. Emotional, reputational and developmental consequences can be profound and anyone who experiences this form of abuse deserves to be taken seriously and supported. With her team, our latest Researcher of the Month, Professor Tanya Horeck, has recently published one of the first empirical studies to examine AI-generated sexual deepfakes within UK schools. Using qualitative data from interviews with secondary school staff and pupils at eight UK schools, Professor Horeck explored what young people and school staff understand about sexual deepfakes, how schools are currently responding, teachers' confidence and preparedness and what support schools need. The findings revealed significant gaps in knowledge and understanding, alongside a strong appetite among both students and teachers for more information, guidance and education. It's important to note that, as an early qualitative study in a rapidly developing area, the research involved only a small number of participants and was designed to explore experiences and perspectives rather than establish how widespread particular views or practices are.
Jul 14, 2026
What Does Effective Drugs Education Look Like? Lessons from The Illicit Project UK
Our latest Researcher of the Month, Professor Harry Sumnall, is leading a team of researchers at Liverpool John Moores University to adapt and test a school drug prevention programme aimed at older teens (aged 15-18). The Illicit Project UK aims to develop teens' skills so that they can make healthier and safer choices when it comes to drug use, avoiding fear mongering approaches of the past that were designed to scare young people, and which we now know to be ineffective. The programme is fully aligned with the national RSHE curriculum in England and with the health and wellbeing curriculum in Scotland. This evidence-based approach is currently being tested in the North West of England and Scotland. The researchers are still looking for more schools, so if you work in a setting based in these areas and would like to be involved in the trial, please contact us and we'll put you in touch with the research team. You can find out more about what participation involves here.
Jun 16, 2026
Making Feedback More Motivating: Learnings from New Research
We often assume that positive feedback will always encourage people to keep trying hard. However, new research by our latest Researcher of the Month, Professor Nils Jostmann, and his co-author Professor Eddie Brummelman, suggests that praise and encouragement can sometimes have the opposite effect, and that how and when we give feedback really matters. Feeling positive about our progress on a task, or believing that we are doing better than we expected to, can sometimes act as a cue that less effort is needed, causing us to work less hard or 'coast'. Positive feedback may therefore have unintended consequences. Rather than spurring us on, it can sometimes encourage us to ease off because we feel confident that we are already doing well enough. Professor Jostmann's recent research sought to explore this further, examining whether the timing of positive feedback influences whether it boosts motivation or inadvertently undermines performance.
May 22, 2026
Reframing Masculinity: Tips for Parents and Teachers Supporting Boys
Dr King-Hill's research with young people has found that many many boys and young men today are grappling with how masculinity is defined and expressed, and many are struggling. In response, she has recently published We're In This Together, Reframing Masculinity for Young Boys and Men. This free, practical and accessible resource is designed for educators and parents or carers, and is packed with thoughtful guidance and realistic strategies to help the boys and young men growing up in our care to thrive. We'd recommend that all of our Tooled Up parents and educators download and read it.
Apr 14, 2026
Empowering young people to overcome low mood and boost wellbeing
Our latest researcher of the month, Professor Maria Loades, is currently seeking teens aged 13 - 17 to take part in a new study. Her Unlock Wellbeing trial will test the efficacy of digital, single session, self-help interventions, which have been designed to help young people in need of mental health support to feel more hopeful, more in control, and less sad or low. In the UK, there is currently a huge gap between the need for mental health support and access to help for young people. We know from a wide body of research that many young people feel unable to ask for help when experiencing depression symptoms. Whilst around 3% of young people are in contact with Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) at any point in time, this is only a very small percentage of those impacted by depression, anxiety or stress. In fact, at least one in three young people has at least some symptoms of depression, and one in 10 might meet the criteria for a mental health disorder. There are several reasons why many young people do not seek, or receive, the support they need. Adolescence is a time of growing independence, and many teens prefer to manage difficulties on their own, speak to friends or look online, rather than reach out to adults for help. Although stigma has reduced, concerns about how others might perceive them, and uncertainty about what support is available, can also hold them back. Practical barriers also play a role. School and clinic hours often overlap, and services are not always easily accessible. Alongside this, there is a shortage of trained therapists in the UK, leading to high thresholds for support and long waiting times, even for those who do seek help. Even more interestingly, of those young people who do seek formal support, almost 50% stop attending after just one session. Whilst one session may be sufficient for some, other young people may disengage due to practical challenges, or because the first session did not meet their expectations, even when further support was available. Given the shortcomings of the current model of support, research by Professor Loades and her team has identified a need for additional help that is scalable, barrier free and available on demand. After pilot tests, she's now planning a full randomised controlled trial to evaluate a series of self-guided, digital, single-session interventions for teens, and she's looking for volunteers. The interventions were originally developed by Professor Jessica Schleider in the Lab for Scalable Mental Health in the US, where they showed beneficial effects on symptoms of depression and anxiety as much as nine months after the intervention. They have been adapted by Professor Loades and colleagues for UK use.
Mar 12, 2026
The Universal Classroom: A New Free Screening Tool for Year 1 Teachers
Our latest Researcher of the Month, Professor Joel Talcott, is one of a team of researchers and educators who have worked on a new universal screener for all Year 1 children in the UK, which will be made freely available to all teachers this Autumn. Within the UK education system, formal identification of SEND typically involves ascribing diagnostic labels, such as dyslexia, dyscalculia or ADHD, based on under-attainment in one or more educational outcomes, compared with age-related expectations. However, access to assessment and diagnosis is challenging, and it is currently not equitable for all. The cost of missing children’s needs has serious personal consequences, as pupils underachieve due to unidentified barriers to learning. It also has wider and significant economic costs to society as a whole. Professor Talcott's new universal screener will address this issue. It offers a simple screening tool, which teachers are initially advised to use with all pupils during the first term of Year 1. Supported by government funding through a special educational needs innovation initiative, the Universal Classroom will be delivered via a freely accessible web platform, allowing any school or teacher to use it at no cost.
Feb 17, 2026
Children's Experiences of ADHD
While there have been many empirical studies of childhood ADHD, there have been few qualitative studies investigating first-hand accounts of the lived experiences of children. Much of the literature focuses on the perspectives of parents or teachers, rather than centring children’s voices. But what are children's thoughts, feelings and experiences? Our latest Researcher of the Month, PhD candidate Daphne Ling, has recently published findings which begin to address this research gap.
Jan 19, 2026
The power of reading: books, vocabulary and learning
Did you know that 2026 is the UK’s National Year of Reading? This long-overdue initiative reflects growing concern and renewed commitment around children’s reading and literacy. As Dr Maria Korochkina, our latest Researcher of the Month, puts it: “The ability to read opens up worlds. Reading enables children to progress into post-primary education and provides the basis for lifelong learning and prosperity into adulthood”. Frequent readers tend to have a stronger understanding of both their own and others’ emotions. They are often better able to communicate these emotions, a skill linked to higher emotional intelligence and improved mental wellbeing. Reading also encourages cause-and-effect reasoning and helps children imagine scenarios beyond the immediate moment - developing the skill of -future-thinking'. A rich vocabulary underpins learning across the school curriculum, strengthens thinking and communication skills, and predicts both academic attainment and later life outcomes. Research consistently shows that the most effective way to build vocabulary is through reading. However, learning to read well is not quick or effortless. The journey to skilled reading typically spans around ten years, requiring high-quality classroom instruction alongside sustained practice through independent reading. For many children, this process is painstaking, demanding consistent teaching, encouragement and opportunity over time. Against this backdrop, recent evidence presents a worrying picture. Fewer children are reading for pleasure than ever before. In 2024, only one in three UK children and young people aged eight to 18 reported enjoying reading in their free time. Even more strikingly, just one in five said they read daily for pleasure, the lowest level recorded since the National Literacy Trust began collecting this data in 2005. This matters because reading ability and reading enjoyment are deeply intertwined. Children who find reading effortful are far less likely to choose to read independently. Dr Korochkina’s research highlights how early reading experiences shape later habits: difficulties with phonic and morphological knowledge in the early stages of reading acquisition can have a snowball effect, reducing confidence, fluency and motivation over time. Her work also offers a powerful note of optimism. Books that children actively choose to read, including contemporary, popular texts, provide rich opportunities to develop vocabulary, particularly when children read widely. Ensuring access to a diverse range of engaging reading material, alongside strong early instruction, can play a vital role in building both reading skill and reading motivation. Fostering confident, motivated readers requires long-term commitment. It is not enough for children simply to have books available to them. They need skilled teaching, time, practice and a culture that values reading as both a skill and a pleasure.
Dec 15, 2025
Crossing the line into cybercrime
As the most digitally connected generation so far, young people today face new challenges. Our latest Researchers of the Month, Professor Davidson and Dr Farr, have found that in the last decade, an increasing number of young people (particularly young men) have committed serious cybercrime offences, particularly hacking and money laundering. Their new book, written following a large research project funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, seeks to understand the drivers behind this trend. It explores a range of potential factors that may lead young people to engage in risky online behaviours, and to identify effective pathways for prevention.