This document contains issues eight and nine of the 1999 Australian Early Intervention Network for Mental Health in Young People newsletters for health professionals. The newsletters disseminate information about the national and local initiatives for intervention and prevention of mental health problems in young children and youth. The issues…

This set of three continuing education units is designed to be used as a professional development tool for school nurses. Each unit consists of several sections designed to stand alone. Thus, the total set can be used and taught in a straightforward sequence, or one or more units and sections can be combined into a personalized course. Each…

Before adults can recognize and value diversity in children they must perceive the strengths and weaknesses of their own personalities and the "childness" within themselves. Presents an outline for an annual mental health exam. (ST)

The options for the possible articulation between the behavioral sciences and health education are examined. Health and illness trends, the evolution, strengths, and weaknesses of the behavioral sciences and health education, and points of commonality and differences are discussed. (JN)

The long-term effects of a preschool intervention program for 21 high-risk experimental children were asssessed. The experimental group was superior to that of the placebo control group at follow-up on the criteria measures of behavioral adjustment and achievement. (Author)

Suggests the use of undergraduate students for primary prevention programs. Discusses an undergraduate prevention practicum and assesses it in terms of impact on students, children, and community. Results indicated undergraduates participating in such a prevention practicum experienced satisfying outcomes demonstrating the value of this type of…

Describes the Safe Schools/Healthy Students (SS/HS) Initiative currently underway in the Tyrone Area School District. The goals of the SS/HS Initiative involve reducing risk and building competencies for students and their families through integration of law enforcement and mental health into school-based prevention efforts. Program evaluation is…

Describes an approach to fostering a predictable, well-organized, and safe school environment. Specifically addresses ways to achieve effective ecological arrangements and common area routines across the school environment. Provides a six-step process for implementing and maintaining these ecological arrangements and routines. Presents a case…

Describes Pasadena, California's, Young and Healthy Project, a program based on the belief that all children, regardless of income, have the right to high-quality health care and early preventive care. Funded partly by a large foundation grant, the program offers all elementary and middle school students in the district medical, dental, and…

Presents conceptual reorientation for providing responsive psychological services to older adults, focusing on need to develop prevention programs that encourage maintenance of social roles. Discusses changes in social structures that encourage more active social engagement, with examples from housing options, part-time employment, and ways to…

Beliefs about suicide and suicide ideation rates were studied in the classroom by questionnaire and by follow-up interview in the home among second-year high-school classes. Rates are reported. Differences were found between the two study methods. Discussion centers on the reasons for suicide and the need for preventive education. (Author/EMK)

A one-year test-retest study tested the model that the relationship between maternal depression and adolescent suicidal symptoms is mediated by family functioning. Children (N=240) and their mothers, 77% of whom had a history of mood disorder, participated. Results are consistent with the hypothesized model. (Author/EMK)

Although anxiety disorders represent the primary reason children and adolescents are referred for mental health services, children showing symptoms of these disorders are not easily recognized. School-based practitioners are in a unique position to help minimize the risk and prevent the development of anxiety disorders. This article examines the…

This article describes how the Fairbanks Native Association's (FNA) Early Head Start (EHS) program in Alaska participated in the EHS Pathways to Prevention initiative. At the FNA EHS program, staff members had watched their families struggle to receive appropriate and respectful mental health services. Developing more culturally relevant services…

This paper proposes that school violence is primarily a function of the typically poor mental health of at-risk students. It asserts therefore, that the most leveraged solution to this vexing problem is for school personnel to teach these students how to re-kindle and experience their birthright of optimal psychological functioning. It suggests…