Intervention Can Prevent Mental Illness in Children

Mental illness and behavioral disorders in children place an enormous strain on families and society, not to mention the kids who suffer from them.

But we have tools at hand that can greatly lessen the personal costs of these illnesses, according to Mary E. Evans, Ph.D., who wrote an assessment of an important research report on the topic, titled "Preventing Mental, Emotional, and Behavioral Disorders Among Young People: Progress and Possibilities," put out by the Institute of Medicine and a coalition of government research groups earlier this year.

Evans' report, which appeared in the Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Nursing, says that about "one in five young people in the U.S. have a current mental, emotional, or behavioral disorder. About half of all adults with mental disorders recalled that their disorders began by their mid-teens and three-quarters by their mid-20s."

People who have these problems early in life have a greater risk of dropping out of school and developing severe psychiatric disorders, as well as drug and alcohol problems and teen pregnancy. According to Evans, however, the report offers very encouraging news about preventing the worst of these outcomes. She says that specific "interventional programs in schools, communities and health care settings" that already are in place in some communities allows early detection and treatment.

An example of "an effective school-based program is the Good Behavior Game," according to Medical News Today. The game "divides elementary school classes into teams and reinforces desirable behaviors with rewards such as extra free time and other privileges. Studies have shown that the program significantly reduces aggressive and disruptive behavior during first grade." Long-term studies of the game's effects show that it lowers kids' risk of abusing drugs and alcohol later in teen years and reduces the "likelihood that highly aggressive boys will be diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder as adults."

And that is just one of many well-researched interventions that have been shown to be highly effective at reducing aggression in young people, Evans added.

"For all nurses, this report will increase our understanding of risk and protective factors related to the healthy development of children and youth," Evans wrote.

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