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Prevention of Risks for Mental Health Problems: Lessons Learned in Examining the Prevention of Depression in Families

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Abstract

The understanding of risks and outcome for psychopathology in children and adolescents has advanced dramatically over the past 20 years. Correspondingly, so has the understanding of protective factors. The development and evaluation of preventive intervention programs are informed by such advances. Indeed, in some ways, the scientific basis for the development of preventive interventions is the understanding of normal development and its vicissitudes. The purpose of this chapter is to discuss some recent developments in our understanding of risk and protective factors in youth, and to illustrate how such understanding has been used in the design of preventive interventions. We will use the example of empirical prevention approaches for adolescent depression, as a discussion of prevention programs for other diagnoses is beyond the scope of this chapter.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. of Psychiatry Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 300 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA, 02115, USA

    William R. Beardslee MD

  2. Judge Baker Children’s Center, 3 Blackfan Circle, Boston, MA, 02115, USA

    Tracy R.G. Gladstone PhD

Authors
  1. William R. Beardslee MD
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  2. Tracy R.G. Gladstone PhD
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Klinik für Kinder- und Jugendpsychiatrie und -psychotherapie, Klinikum der Philipps-Universität Marburg, Hans-Sachs-Str. 4 und 6, 35033, Marburg, Germany

    Helmut Remschmidt

  2. Department of Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School, 641 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA, 02115, USA

    Myron L. Belfer MD, MPH

  3. Douglas House Developmental Psychiatry, Cambridge University, 18b Trumpington Road, Cambridge, CB2 2AH, UK

    Ian Goodyer MD

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© 2004 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Beardslee, W.R., Gladstone, T.R. (2004). Prevention of Risks for Mental Health Problems: Lessons Learned in Examining the Prevention of Depression in Families. In: Remschmidt, H., Belfer, M.L., Goodyer, I. (eds) Facilitating Pathways. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-18611-0_18

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-18611-0_18

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-62197-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-18611-0

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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