Primary Prevention of Mental Disorders

Abstract

This chapter distinguishes the concept of primary prevention of mental disorders, which strives to prevent the onset of mental disorders, from mental health promotion and secondary and tertiary prevention of mental disorders. Given multiple risk factors for the development of mental disorders, the need for an ecological and lifespan developmental perspective to the practice of primary mental disorder prevention is highlighted. This demands multifaceted interventions at the individual, proximal and distal levels. Risk factors for mental disorders across the lifespan are described and the evidence base for effective primary prevention for disruptive disorders in children and depression in both..