Does frontal brain activity mediate the effect of depression prevention in adolescents? A pilot study

We investigated whether (a) depression prevention was associated with depressive symptoms and medial-frontal alpha asymmetry in adolescents; (b) alpha asymmetry mediated the association between participation in a prevention program and depressive symptoms; and (c) gender affects these associations. In our randomised control group study, we compared a universal prevention program (n = 40 adolescents, 14 females) with a non-intervention control condition (n = 39 adolescents, 20 females) in German secondary school students (mean age: 13.53 years, SD = 0.53). We collected data at baseline, post-intervention, 6-month, and 12-month follow-up using the Self-Rating Questionnaire for Depressive Disorders (SBB-DES) and resting medial-frontal alpha activity on F3 and F4. We found that girls benefitted from participating in the prevention program in regards to their depressive symptoms at 12-month follow-up but not alpha asymmetry. In boys, participation in the prevention program was associated with their alpha asymmetry at 6-month follow-up but not their depressive symptoms. Alpha asymmetry did not mediate the effects of the prevention program on depressive symptoms in either gender. Although participation in the prevention program was associated with both depressive symptoms and alpha asymmetry, those associations seem independent from each other. Possible explanations for this result pattern are discussed.     

Risk and protective factors for suicide among Guyanese youth: Youth and stakeholder perspectives

Guyana, a low-to-middle-income country (LMIC) in South America, leads the world in youth suicide. As an understanding of risk and protective factors is critical to the development of culturally informed suicide prevention efforts, research exploring these factors among youth in Guyana is needed. The current study expands on current research on adolescent suicide in Guyana and LMICs broadly by using qualitative focus groups and interviews to explore adult stakeholders' and youth's perspectives. Participants included 17 adult stakeholders and 40 adolescents in Guyana. Data were analysed using a grounded theory approach. Themes related to participants' perceptions of risk factors for suicide included demographic characteristics, pressure and expectations, adults' responses to youth, limited coping with stressful life events and exposure to suicide. Themes related to protective factors for suicide included positive social support and involvement in community activities. Findings have implications for the development and tailoring of suicide prevention efforts for Guyanese youth.     

Prevention of delinquency: Current status and issues

In the present review, we summarize the extant literature in the field of delinquency prevention. We do not provide a recounting of whether specific programs have or have not been effective but, rather, attempt to judge the overall utility of programs to prevent delinquency in its various forms and among various definable groups. Specifically, we organize our review of programs according to the characteristics of the targeted population, differentiating programs for universal, selected, or indicated populations. Within each population type, we further distinguish programs according to designated intervention context, relying on a biopsychosocial model that specifies four levels of influence on risk for delinquency: individual, close interpersonal relationships, proximal social settings, and societal macrosystems. At each level, we identify a number of effective intervention strategies and highlight those that are based on relevant risk factor research. As we note, the effectiveness of some approaches depends on the specific population, although, in general, multicomponent, multilevel programs appear to have the most substantial effects.     

A systems framework for understanding social settings

In this paper, we argue that attempts to change social settings have been hindered by lack of theoretical advances in understanding key aspects of social settings and how they work in a dynamic system. We present a systems framework for understanding youths' social settings. We focus on three aspects of settings that represent intervention targets: social processes (i.e., patterns of transactions between two or more people or groups of people), resources (i.e., human, economic, physical, temporal resources), and organization of resources (i.e., how resources are arranged and allocated). We postulate that these setting aspects are in dynamic transaction with each other, resulting in setting outcomes. Discussion focuses on the implications of our theoretical framework for setting intervention.     

A randomised controlled trial to assess the effectiveness of providing self-help information to people with symptoms of acute stress disorder following a traumatic injury

BACKGROUND: Patients attending accident and emergency (A&E) may develop long-term psychological difficulties. Psycho-education has been suggested to reduce the risk of post-injury disorders. AIMS: We tested the efficacy of providing self-help information to a high-risk sample. METHODS: A&E attenders were screened for acute stress disorder and randomised to two groups: patients (n=116) receiving a self-help booklet and those who did not (n=111). A sample of 'low' scorers was also included (n=120); they did not receive a booklet. Psychological assessments were completed at baseline (within 1 month post-injury) and 3 and 6 months post-injury. RESULTS: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety and depression decreased (p<0.001) across time but there were no group differences in these measures or quality of life. However, subjective ratings of the usefulness of the self-help booklet were very high. CONCLUSIONS: This trial failed to support the efficacy of providing self-help information, as a preventative strategy to ameliorate PTSD.     

The prevention of depressive symptoms in low-income, minority children: two-year follow-up

We present 2-year follow-up data on the efficacy of the Penn Resiliency Program (PRP), a school-based depression prevention program, with low-income, racial/ethnic minority children. This program taught cognitive and social problem-solving skills to 168 Latino and African American middle school children who were at-risk for developing depressive symptoms by virtue of their low-income status. We had previously reported beneficial effects of the PRP up to 6 months after the conclusion of the program for the Latino children, but no clear effect for the African American children. In this paper, we extend the analyses to 24 months after the conclusion of the PRP. We continue to find some beneficial effects for the Latino children and no differentially beneficial effect for the African American children. Implications of findings and future research directions are discussed.     

An approach to preventing coparenting conflict and divorce in low-income families: strengthening couple relationships and fostering fathers' involvement

In the context of current concern about levels of marital distress, family violence, and divorce, the SFI study is evaluating the effectiveness of an intervention to facilitate the positive involvement of low-income Mexican American and European American fathers with their children, in part by strengthening the men's relationships with their children's mothers. The study design involves a randomized clinical trial that includes assignment to a 16-week couples group, a 16-week fathers group, or a single-session control group. Couples in both group interventions and the control condition include partners who are married, cohabiting, and living separately but raising a young child together. This article presents the rationale, design, and intervention approach to father involvement for families whose relationships are at risk because of the hardships of their lives, many of whom are manifesting some degree of individual or relationship distress. We present preliminary impressions and qualitative findings based on our experience with 257 families who completed the pretest, and the first 160 who completed one postintervention assessment 9 months after entering the study. Discussion centers on what we have learned and questions that remain to be answered in mounting a multisite preventive intervention to strengthen relationships in low-income families.     

Proactive, early screening to detect behaviorally at-risk students: Issues, approaches, emerging innovations, and professional practices

This article provides a review of current practices and tools used in the proactive screening of behaviorally at-risk students within the context of schooling. While there are many obstacles to the early detection of vulnerable students, some recent developments have helped make educators more receptive to early identification and prevention approaches. In addition to describing current best practices, this article reviews promising innovations in screening and early identification that the authors believe are worth considering and whose structural characteristics, required accommodations, and critical features may make them more acceptable to educational users. Implications for the training of school psychologists in the screening and early identification of high-risk students are reviewed and recommendations offered for future research.     

Reactions of Men of Color to a Commonly Used Rape Prevention Program: Attitude and Predicted Behavior Changes

African American, Latino, and Asian first-year college men (36) saw The Men’s Program, an all-male rape prevention workshop, and wrote answers to four open-ended questions to determine how men from non-white groups react to a commonly used rape prevention program. Using a multi-stage inductive analysis, participant responses fell into five main themes including reinforced current beliefs and/or no changes, increased awareness of rape and its effects on survivors, increased understanding of consent, plans to intervene if a rape might occur, and plans to change behavior in their own intimate situations. Participants mentioned specific ways in which they planned to change personal behavior, and ways in which they planned to intervene if they saw potentially dangerous situations.     

Introduction to the special section on prevention science: From generic rules to differential adaptations

Prevention science as an interdisciplinary specialty is addressed in this introduction to the special section of the journal. The six papers that comprise the special section are briefly summarised, especially noting the global regions that are represented, that is, Europe, Middle East, New Zealand and South America. Attention to the importance of differential adaptations of prevention interventions developed in one region, country or locale but implemented in another is emphasised. The Guest Editors reflect on the importance of developing cross-national collaborations to further the advance of prevention science globally.