Prevention of mental disorders in children and adolescents

Background Mental stress and mental disorders in children and adolescents are very common and have a lasting impact on psychosocial, physical and cognitive development. In order to reduce the risk of mental illness at an early stage, preventive measures are of great importance. Objective The aim of the narrative review is to present various preventive methods and their effectiveness on selected frequent mental disorders in childhood and adolescence, such as depression, anxiety disorders, addictive disorders and developmental disorders. Results and discussion There are a variety of preventive methods, which include information and education campaigns by means of flyers, brochures and websites in the context of universal prevention. The scope of preventive measures varies greatly. In order to achieve long-term effectiveness, repetition of content is useful (booster sessions). Selective preventive methods address risk groups for mental illnesses, which include children of mentally ill parents. Prevention very often takes place in schools. Psychotherapeutic methods often form the basis for selective and tertiary prevention. The effectiveness of selective prevention is usually higher than the effectiveness of universal prevention. The integration of the family can increase the effectiveness.