Preventing Mental, Emotional, and Behavioral Disorders Among Young People Progress and Possibilities (2009) / Chapter Skim
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3 Defining the Scope of Prevention
3 Defining the Scope of Prevention
Pages 59-70
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From page 59... ...
Prevention and health promotion both focus on changing common influences on the development of children and adolescents in order to aid them in functioning well in meeting life's tasks and challenges and remaining free of cognitive, emotional, and behavioral problems that would impair their functioning. issues in DEFINING prevention Definitional issues have been much discussed since the earliest efforts to bring preventive approaches to the field of mental health and substance abuse.
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From page 60... ...
Caplan's (1964) application of the concepts of primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention, which are common in a public health context, had an important influence in developing early prevention models.
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From page 61... ...
was specifically developed for mental health, a modified version of the Gordon approach was adopted. The defining feature for classifying preventive interventions was the population that was targeted.
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From page 62... ...
Despite the broadening of the definition of prevention, the report specifically stated that the expanded research agenda "does not represent a decreased commitment to preventing mental disorders in people currently without symptoms or those who have never been mentally ill" (National Advisory Mental Health Council Workgroup on Mental Disorders Prevention Research, 1998, p.
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From page 63... ...
The committee views this concept to be a promising dimension of indicated prevention, but as only one component of a broader spectrum of needed approaches. As discussed in Chapter 5, there have been substantial developments in identifying genetic and epigenetic information that may contribute to MEB disorders, as well as increased recognition that environmental exposures, particularly during early development, can interact with genetic characteristics to affect gene expression.
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From page 64... ...
Consistent with the agencies' legislative mandates, targeted attention is also needed to approaches that can promote mental health, regardless of whether a specific disorder is being prevented. THE CURRENT APPROACH The classification system used to define the boundaries of prevention and prevention research is critical for assessing the degree to which prevention research and services are being used along with treatment strategies as part of a public health approach to reduce the burden of MEB disorders in the population.
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From page 65... ...
. There is also increasing evidence that promotion of positive aspects of mental health is an important approach to reducing MEB disorders and related problems as well (National Research Council and Institute of Medicine, 2002; Catalano, Berglund, et al., 2002, 2004; Commission on Positive Youth Development, 2005)
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From page 66... ...
Selective interventions are most appropriate if their cost is moderate and if the risk of negative effects is minimal or nonexistent. Example: Programs offered to children exposed to risk factors, such as paren tal divorce, parental mental illness, death of a close relative, or abuse, to reduce risk for adverse mental, emotional, and behavioral outcomes.
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From page 67... ...
and used in international contexts (e.g., World Health Organization, 2004; Jané-Llopis and Anderson, 2005) : Mental health promotion includes efforts to enhance individuals' ability to achieve developmentally appropriate tasks (developmental competence)
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From page 68... ...
. Similarly, reviews of mental health promotion programs for children and young people cite many programs that have been demonstrated both to reduce problems and to increase positive aspects of development (e.g., National Research Council and Institute of Medicine, 2002; Catalano, Berglund, et al., 2002, 2004)
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From page 69... ...
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION Definitions of prevention are important for identifying the potential contribution of prevention approaches to the overall public health goal of reducing the burden of MEB disorders on children and youth, as well as for distinguishing the complementary contributions of mental health promotion, prevention of disorders, and treatment of disorders. At this time, theory, research, and practice have evolved to support an approach to prevention that aims not only to prevent disorder, but also to promote positive mental, emotional, and behavioral health in young people.
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