Editorial: ‘The early bird catches the worm’—the need for even earlier intervention and targeted prevention for mental illnesses

TY - JOUR

T1 - Editorial

T2 - ‘The early bird catches the worm’—the need for even earlier intervention and targeted prevention for mental illnesses

AU - Fisher, Helen L.

N1 - Funding Information: The author is a joint editor for the Journal of Child and Psychology and Psychiatry (JCPP). H.L.F. receives salary support from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Centre for Society and Mental Health at King’s College London [ES/S012567/1]. The views expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of the ESRC or King’s College London. The author has declared that she has no competing or potential conflicts of interest. Publisher Copyright: © 2021 Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health. Copyright: Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.

PY - 2021/4

Y1 - 2021/4

N2 - Intervening early during childhood and adolescence to prevent mental health problems from becoming chronic, or even to prevent them occurring at all, has become an increasingly popular approach within the field of mental health over the past three decades. The importance of, and potential for, early preventive interventions in infancy, the pre-natal period and even pre-conception is highlighted by several of the papers featured in the current issue of the Journal, which are summarised in this editorial. Identifying children most at risk of mental illness in order to selectively target preventive efforts and carefully testing the effectiveness of these interventions, particularly in low-and middle-income country contexts, are crucial next steps as we move towards an era of more personalised and earlier prevention and intervention in mental health.

AB - Intervening early during childhood and adolescence to prevent mental health problems from becoming chronic, or even to prevent them occurring at all, has become an increasingly popular approach within the field of mental health over the past three decades. The importance of, and potential for, early preventive interventions in infancy, the pre-natal period and even pre-conception is highlighted by several of the papers featured in the current issue of the Journal, which are summarised in this editorial. Identifying children most at risk of mental illness in order to selectively target preventive efforts and carefully testing the effectiveness of these interventions, particularly in low-and middle-income country contexts, are crucial next steps as we move towards an era of more personalised and earlier prevention and intervention in mental health.

KW - Childhood

KW - early intervention

KW - mental health

KW - personalised prevention

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85102743419&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1111/jcpp.13407

DO - 10.1111/jcpp.13407

M3 - Editorial

AN - SCOPUS:85102743419

SN - 0021-9630

VL - 62

SP - 369

EP - 371

JO - Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines

JF - Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines

IS - 4

ER -