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Published Online: 1 March 2011

Prevention of Mental Disorders, Substance Abuse, and Problem Behaviors: A Developmental Perspective

Abstract

Robust scientific evidence shows that mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders can be prevented before they begin. This article highlights and expands points from a 2009 Institute of Medicine report to provide a concise summary of the literature on preventing mental illness. Because prevention requires intervention before the onset of illness, effective preventive approaches are often interdisciplinary and developmental. Evidence-based preventive strategies are discussed for the different phases of a young person's life. Specific recommendations to focus on parenting, child development, and the prevention of depression are made for a target audience of practicing psychiatrists and mental health professionals. Further systemic recommendations are to prioritize prevention and to coordinate and facilitate research on preventive practices in order to reduce suffering, create healthier families, and save money. (Psychiatric Services 62:247–254, 2011)

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Figure 1 Age at which symptoms of common mental disorders first appear and are diagnosed
Figure 2 Preventive intervention opportunities, by developmental phase to young adulthood

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Go to Psychiatric Services
Go to Psychiatric Services
Cover: Spring Thaw, by Ernest Lawson, circa 1910. Oil on canvas, 25¼ × 30 inches. Terra Foundation for American Art, Daniel J. Terra Collection. Photo credit: Terra Foundation for American Art, Chicago/Art Resource, New York.
Psychiatric Services
Pages: 247 - 254
PubMed: 21363895

History

Published online: 1 March 2011
Published in print: March 2011

Authors

Details

William R. Beardslee, M.D.
Dr. Beardslee is director of the Baer Prevention Initiatives, Children's Hospital Boston, and is the Gardner/Monks Professor of Child Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston.
Peter L. Chien, M.D.
Dr. Chien is staff psychiatrist at the Community Mental Health Council and Dr. Bell is its president and chief executive officer.
Carl C. Bell, M.D.
Dr. Chien is staff psychiatrist at the Community Mental Health Council and Dr. Bell is its president and chief executive officer.
Dr. Bell is also acting director of the Institute for Juvenile Research and professor, Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois, Chicago.

Notes

Send correspondence to Dr. Chien at the Community Mental Health Council, 8704 S. Constance Ave., Chicago, IL 60617 (e-mail: [email protected]).

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