Handbook of Youth Prevention Science

The Handbook of Youth Prevention Science describes current research and practice in mental health preventive interventions for youth. Traditional prevention research focused on preventing specific disorders, e.g., substance abuse, conduct disorders, or criminality. This produced silos of isolated knowledge about the prevention of individual disorders without acknowledging the overlapping goals, strategies, and impacts of prevention programs. This handbook reflects current research and practice by organizing prevention science around comprehensive systems that reach across all disorders and all institutions within a community. Throughout the book preventive interventions are seen as complementary components of effective mental health programs, not as replacements for therapeutic interventions.Key FeaturesComprehensive ' This handbook is the first to bring together and integrate the important work that is currently being conducted on comprehensive youth prevention programs that cut across all mental health disorders and practice disciplines.Evidence-Based ' The focus throughout is on the science of prevention and how that science informs the theory, practice and methodology related to preventive interventions with youth.Issue-Oriented ' Contemporary debates about the research-to-practice gap in prevention science are carefully examined, including issues of practice fidelity, program dissemination, taking programs to scale, and infrastructures needed for effective prevention practices.Definition of Mental Health ' Outcomes of youth prevention programs are broadly described as the promotion of psychological wellness in addition to the prevention of youth maladjustment.Expertise ' The lead editor (Beth Doll) is well known for her research on school-based preventions, particularly for interventions that enhance the school learning environment. She chaired the National Association of School Psychologist's (NASP) Presidential Taskforce on Prevention.This book is suitable for researchers, instructors and graduate students in the child and adolescent mental health professions: school psychology, school counseling, special education, school social work, child clinical psychology and the libraries serving them. It is also suitable for graduate course work in these fields.