Prevention programmes targeting emotional and social development in preschoolers: current status and future directions

Early intervention has become a widely recognised practice because preschool years offer the best timing for preventing early onset conduct problems. Moreover, some factors have been consistently identified as putting children at risk for developing mental health problems, as well as school readiness problems. Such risk factors are poor development of social and emotional competencies in children, harsh and/or inconsistent parenting strategies, contextual factors (e.g. low socio‐economic status (SES), parental mental health problems), and educational factors. Different types of preventive programmes have been aimed at reducing the impact of these risk factors on children’s developmental pathways. However, there are only a few evidence‐based interventions, efficient in reducing symptoms associated with early onset conduct problems such as aggression and non‐compliance. Future directions for designing and implementing preventive interventions are drawn upon an in‐depth content analysis of current programmes and a discussion of key methodological issues in establishing programme efficacy.