Importance of Early Intervention and Prevention Programmes

Given the high prevalence of anxiety disorders in childhood and youth, and the important link between anxiety and depression, early intervention programmes represent an important and necessary step to benefit individuals, families and communities at large.

These programmes are designed to prevent the development of anxiety and depressive disorders by increasing an individuals’ emotional resilience, and promoting positive coping skills.

The importance of early intervention programmes is accentuated by research that suggests children who suffer from high anxiety are more likely to become anxious adults (Mattison, 1992).

Early anxiety intervention programmes have been shown to reduce the number of children and youth developing anxiety disorders (the full report of this research is published in The Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology (Dadds, Spence, Holland, Barrett, & Laurens,1997).

Furthermore, such programmes are cost-effective by reducing the cost for future professional services, as well as targeting large groups of individuals over a short period of time.

In short, effective early intervention and prevention programmes represent a significant opportunity to prevent a great deal of suffering for individuals and their families.