Mental health promotion: A developmental perspective

Child mental health promotion is vital to any society because: (1) child psychiatric problems are common, (2) a significant proportion of such problems have a poor prognosis and (3) many adult disorders have their origins in childhood risk factors. Furthermore, there is evidence that mental health prevention in childhood can have a major positive impact at both the micro level, for children and families, and the macro level for institutions and communities. It is therefore surprising that it has received so little attention to date, especially in the UK. This review is divided into 4 sections. First, a developmental and ecological theoretical perspective is presented to explain ways in which the conceptualization and prevention of child mental health problems differs from work with adults. Examples of work at the family level are then presented and examples of initiatives conducted in schools—with individual children, with classes, and with the whole school population. The potential role of schools as an effective focus for mental health promotion and psychiatric illness prevention is highlighted, with attention to an ecological model of development. The final section considers a specific example of considerable concern, children excluded from school, and suggests that a preventative strategy may well be the best way of addressing the problem.