Overall

• Research funders* should fund preventive intervention research on (1) risk and protective factors for specific disorders; (2) risk and protective factors that lead to multiple mental, emotional, and behavioral problems and disorders; and (3) promotion of individual, family, school, and community competencies. (4-3)

• Research funders should invest in studies that (1) aim to replicate findings from earlier trials, (2) evaluate long-term outcomes of preventive interventions across multiple outcomes (e.g., disorders, academic outcomes), and (3) test the extent to which each prevention program is effective in different race, ethnic, gender, and developmental groups. (10-1)

• The National Institutes of Health and other federal agencies should increase funding for research on prevention and promotion strategies that reduce multiple MEB disorders and that strengthen accomplishment of age-appropriate developmental tasks. High priority should be given to increasing collaboration and joint funding across institutes and across federal agencies that are responsible for separate but developmentally related outcomes (e.g., mental health, substance use, school success, contact with justice). (12-5)

• Research funders should strongly support research to improve the effectiveness of current interventions and the creation of new, more effective interventions with the goal of wide-scale implementation of these interventions. (7-2)

Screening Linked to Interventions

• Research funders should support a rigorous research agenda to develop and test community-based partnership models involving systems such as education (including preschool), primary care, and behavioral health to screen for risks and early mental, emotional, and behavioral problems and assess implementation of evidence-based preventive responses to identified needs. (8-1)

Implementation

• The National Institutes of Health should be charged with developing methodologies to address major gaps in current prevention science approaches, including the study of dissemination and implementation of successful interventions. (10-2)

• Research funders should fund research and evaluation on (1) dissemination strategies designed to identify effective approaches to implementation of evidence-based programs, (2) the effectiveness of programs when implemented by communities, and (3) identification of core elements of evidence-based programs, dissemination, and institutionalization strategies that might facilitate implementation. (11-1)

• Research funders should fund research on state- or community-wide implementation of interventions to promote mental, emotional, or behavioral health