The following literature review examines the research on the prevention of mental illness in children and adolescents; relevant theories also are surveyed. The results point to directions for future research and present public policy. A risk-reduction model in preventative research, whereby risk factors are identified and matched to empirically tested interventions, is most promising. If risk factors can be decreased or in some way altered while protective factors are enhanced, the likelihood of at-risk children eventually developing a mental disorder would decrease. The ultimate goal is to achieve optimal prevention by building the principles of prevention into the ordinary activities of everyday life and into community structures to enhance development over the entire life span.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Allen-MearesP. (1995). Social work with children and adolescents.New York: Longman Publishers.
2.
American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. (1990). Prevention in child and adolescent psychiatry: The reduction of risk for mental disorders.Washington, DC: Author.
3.
American Psychiatric Association. (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.
4.
ArnoldE. L. (1990). Childhood stress.New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
BiermanK. L. (1986). Process of change during social skills training with preadolescents and its relation to treatment outcomes. Child Development, 57, 230–240.
7.
BlairA. (1992). The role of primary prevention in mental health services: A review and critique. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, 2, 77–94.
8.
BlockJ. (1981). Growing up vulnerable and growing up resistant: Preschool personality, pre-adolescent personality and intervening family stresses. In MooreC. D. (Ed.), Adolescence and stress.Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.
9.
BowlbyJ. (1988). A secure base: Parent child attachment and healthy human development.New York: Basic Books.
10.
BradleyR. H., CaldwellB. M., & RockS. L. (1988). Home environment and school performance: A ten-year follow-up examination of three models of environmental action. Child Development, 59(4), 852–867.
11.
BravermanS., & ParisJ. (1993). The male mid-life crisis in the grown-up resilient child. Psychotherapy, 30(4), 651–657.
12.
BronfenbrennerU. (1979). The ecology of human development: Experiment by nature and design.Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
13.
CicchettiD., & GarmezyN. (1993). Milestones in the development of resilience. Development and Psychopathology, 5(4), 497–502.
14.
CoieJ., & KrehbielG. (1984). Effects of academic tutoring on the social status of low-achieving, socially rejected children. Child Development, 55, 1465–1478.
15.
ColeR. E., Al-KhayyalM., BaldwinA. L., BaldwinC. P., & FisherL. (1980). A cross-setting assessment of family interaction and the prediction of school competence in children at risk. Paper presented at the Schizophrenia High Risk Consortium Conference, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
16.
CowenE. L., & WorkW. C. (1988). Resilient children, psychological wellness, and primary prevention. American Journal of Community Psychology, 16(4), 591–607.
17.
DiNittoD. M. (1995). Social welfare.Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
18.
DulmusC. N., & WodarskiJ. S. (1997). Prevention of childhood mental disorders: A literature review reflecting hope and a vision for the future. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, 14(3), 181–198.
19.
EricksonE. (1980). Identity and the life cycle.New York: Norton.
20.
GarmezyN. (1981). Children under stress: Perspectives on antecedents and correlates of vulnerability and resistance to psychopathology. In RabinA. I., AronoffJ., BarclayA., & ZuckerR. A. (Eds.), Further explorations in personality.New York: Wiley.
21.
GarmezyN. (1983). Stressors in childhood. In GarmezyN., & RutterM. (Eds.), Stress, coping and development.New York: McGraw-Hill.
22.
GarmezyN. (1984). Risk and protective factors in children vulnerable to major mental disorders. In GreenspoonL. (Ed.), Psychiatry 1983.Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press.
23.
GarmezyN. (1993). Children in poverty: Resilience despite risk. Psychiatry Interpersonal and Biological Processes, 56(1), 127–136.
24.
GordonR. (1983). An operational classification of disease prevention. Public Reports, 98, 107–109.
25.
GordonR. (1987). An operational classification of disease prevention. In SteinbergJ. A., & SilvermanM. M. (Eds.), Preventing mental disorders (pp. 20–26). Rockville, MD: Department of Health and Human Services.
26.
HauserS. T., VieyraM. B., JacobsonA. M., & WertliebD. (1985). Vulnerability and resilience in adolescence: Views from the family. Journal of Early Adolescence, 5(1), 81–100.
27.
HawkinsJ. D., CatalanoR. F., MorrisonD. M., O'DonnellJ., AbbottR. D., & DayL. E. (1992). The Seattle Social Development Project: Effects of the first four years on protective factors and problem behaviors. In McCordJ., & TremblayR. (Eds.), The prevention of antisocial behavior in children.New York: Guilford Press.
28.
Institute of Medicine. (1994). Reducing risks for mental disorders: Frontiers for preventive intervention research.Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
29.
JohnsonD. L. (1990). The Houston Parent-Child Development Center Project: Disseminating a viable program for enhancing at-risk families. Prevention in Human Services, 7, 89–108.
30.
JohnsonD. L. (1991). Primary prevention of behavior problems in young children: The Houston Parent-Child Development Center. In PriceR., CowenE. L., LorionR. P., & Ramos-McKay (Eds.), Fourteen ounces of prevention: A casebook for practitioners (pp. 44–52). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
31.
KaganJ. (1998). Three seductive ideas.London, England: Harvard University Press.
32.
KallamS. G., & RebokG. W. (1992). Building developmental and etiological theory through epidemiologically based preventive intervention trials. In McCordJ., & TremblayR. E. (Eds.), Preventing antisocial behavior: Interventions from birth through adolescence (pp. 162–195). New York: Guilford Press.
33.
KauffmanC., GrunebaumH., CohlerB., & GarnerE. (1979). Superkids: Competent children of psychotic mothers. American Journal of Psychiatry, 36, 1398–1402.
34.
KazdinA. (1993). Treatment of conduct disorder: Progress and directions in psychotherapy research. Development and Psychopathology, 5, 277–310.
35.
KendallP. (1993). Cognitive-behavioral therapies with youth: Guiding theory, current status, and emerging developments. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 61(2), 235–247.
36.
LevensteinP. (1992). The Mother-Child Home Program: Research methodology and the real world. In McCordJ., & TremblayR. E. (Eds.), Preventing antisocial behavior: Interventions from birth through adolescence (pp. 43–66). New York: Guilford Press.
37.
LibermanR. P., & EckmanT. (1981). Behavior therapy vs insight oriented therapy for repeated suicide attempters. Archives of General Psychiatry, 38(10), 1126–1130.
38.
McAdooH. P. (1988). Black families (2nd ed.). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
39.
McMahonR. (1994). Diagnosis, assessment, and treatment of externalizing problems in children: The role of longitudinal data. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 62(5), 901–917.
40.
MurphyL., & MoriartyA. (1976). Vulnerability, coping and growth from infancy to adolescence.New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
41.
Office of Technology Assessment, U.S. Congress. (1986). Children's mental health: Problems and services.Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
42.
OlweusD. (1991). Bully/victim problems among school children: Basic facts and effects of an intervention program. In RubinK., & PeplerD. (Eds.), The development and treatment of childhood aggression.Hilldale, NJ: Erlbaum.
43.
OsbornA. F. (1990). Resilient children: A longitudinal study of high achieving socially disadvantaged children. Early Child Development and Care, 62, 23–47.
44.
Pedro-CarrollJ. L., & CowenE. L. (1985). The Children of Divorce Intervention Program: An investigation of the efficacy of a school-based prevention program. Journal of Counseling and Clinical Psychology, 53, 603–611.
45.
RappaportJ. (1992). The dilemma of primary prevention in mental health: Rationalize the status quo or bite the hand that feeds you. Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology, 2, 95–99.
46.
RutterM. (1979). Protective factors in children's response to stress and disadvantage. In KentM. W., & RolfJ. E. (Eds.), Primary prevention of psychopathology.Hanover, NH: University Press of New England.
RutterM. (1983). Stress, coping and development: Some issues and some questions. In GarmezyN., & RutterM. (Eds.), Stress, coping and development in children.New York: McGraw-Hill.
49.
ShureM. B., & SpivackG. (1982). Interpersonal problem-solving in young children: A cognitive approach to prevention. American Psychological Association, 10, 341–356.
50.
ShureM. B., & SpivackG. (1988). Interpersonal cognitive problem solving. In PriceR. H., CowenE. L., LorionR. P., & Ramos-McKayJ. (Eds.), Fourteen ounces of prevention: A casebook for practitioners (pp. 69–82). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
StrayhornJ. M., & WeidmanC. S. (1991). Follow-up one year after parent-child interaction training: Effects on behavior of preschool children. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 30, 138–143.
53.
TremblayR. E., McCordJ., BioleauH., CharleboisP. I., GagnonC., LeBlancM., & LariveeS. (1991). Can disruptive boys be helped to become competent?Psychiatry, 54, 148–161.
54.
WernerE. E. (1989). High risk children in young adulthood: A longitudinal study from birth to 32 years. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 59(1), 72–81.
55.
WernerE. E., & SmithR. S. (1982). Vulnerable but invincible: A longitudinal study of resilient children and youth.New York: McGraw-Hill.
