Citation

Thomas G. Pediatrics 2019; 144(2): ePub.

Affiliation

Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, Ohio glenn.thomas@nationwidechildrens.org.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, American Academy of Pediatrics)

DOI

10.1542/peds.2019-0937

PMID

31262778

Abstract

The effectiveness of universal mental health prevention has been well established, with a demonstrated return on investment seen for a number of models.1 The importance of prevention is highlighted by some concerning statistics. In the United States, 22% of teenagers have experienced a mental illness, and half of all lifetime mental illness starts by age 14. Yet only 50% of youth with a mental health disorder receive treatment.2 Thus, universal prevention strategies have significant potential for reducing the burden of pediatric mental illness on children and adolescents, their families, and society.

In “Adolescent Mental Health Program Components and Behavior Risk Reduction: A Meta-analysis,” Skeen et al3 note that past reviews of prevention models have focused on single-issue interventions and outcomes. By contrast, their meta-analysis of universal prevention models for adolescents sought to identify common practice components in proven interventions across multiple outcomes. This was done with the express intent of developing a universal model to affect multiple outcomes as part of the Helping Adolescents Thrive initiative sponsored by the World Health Organization and United Nations Children’s Fund. This is …

Language: en