This paper outlines the longstanding discrepancy between needs and resources for child disorders and discusses the concepts of risk and protective factors in developing a case for the primary prevention of emotional and behaviour disorders in children and adolescents. Promising preventive interventions reported in the literature are reviewed using a developmental framework.

L'économic nord-américaine est soumise è des changements structurels irréversibles qui se manifestent par une incapacité de plus en plus évidente è eréer des emplois stables et adéquatement rémunérés. En měme temps, les gouvernements sont hantés par la lutte au déficit et font de la dette nationale un enjeu tel que la survie měme des programmes de soutien économique aux familles et aux plus démunis est menacée. Les familles et les enfants canadiens sont de plus en plus nombreux è connaitre la pauvreté et è en subir les effets. Dans ce contexte, la seule utilisation de programmes de prévention psychosociaux destinés è contrer les effets de la pauvreté, sans une stratégie tout aussi importante de réduction des inégalités économiques et de la pauvreté elleměme, apparait comme une approche incompléte, inefficiente, et a la limite, cynique. Il y a un danger de bâtir une industrie de la prévention sur le dos de celles et de ceux accablés par les conditions de vie inappropriées. On peut se prémunir contre un tel glissement dans nos stratégies de prévention si l'on accepte de reconnaitre et d'inclure dans nos modèles d'intervention des valeurs comme l'équité, les droits è la reconnaissance, è la dignité, au partage des res sources et des pouvoirs, et ultimement, le droit au plaisir et au développement.

In this paper, I explore interventions with single mothers who are “at risk” for perpetrating child maltreatment. I will (a) challenge some of the underlying assumptions and social/political implications of person-centred interventions with single mothers, and (b) identify some of the principles and criteria that might be used to guide and evaluate more emancipatory alternatives. Like other feminist critics of social policy and child welfare, I will suggest that the well-being of children in single-mother families is rooted, not within inherent deficits in the mothering skills of single mothers, but within the disadvantaged position of women—and their children—in patriarchal/capitalist societies. Further, I will suggest that monolithic, decontextualized accounts of single motherhood do not serve the needs of single mothers or their children. Finally, I will conclude that child maltreatment can be prevented, at least in part, through collective action, including politically conscious mutual aid, and broader changes in social and economic policy.

This paper discusses the protective role of community day care for main-streaming infants and preschoolers exhibiting mental health problems or who are at risk for them. Mainstreaming these children and working with their families places heavy demands on staff, many of whom lack the skills to manage behaviourally and emotionally disturbed children. Changes in the day care training curriculum to include understanding of children's socioemotional and relational needs is required. Mainstreamed settings for children with mental health special needs also can benefit from ongoing input from mental health consultants. The review also discusses the need for empirical research to clarify whether, and under what conditions, day care can support children with mental health problems, and how programs can be tailored to meet the needs of individual children.

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child was created to promote the well-being of children around the world. The Convention, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1989. covers a wide range of issues dealing with the physical and emotional well-being of children. The specific purpose of this article is to explore the implications of the Convention for children's mental health. A content analysis of the document reveals six main themes or guiding principles for the promotion of children's mental health: (a) protection, health care, and nurturance; (b) opportunities for education and personal development; (c) children's rights and self-determination; (d) appreciation of human diversity; (e) collaboration and respect for others; and (f) adequate provision of resources. Ways to translate these principles into action in families, schools, communities, and society at large are discussed. On the basis of available knowledge, I show how these values can be enacted by parents, teachers, professionals, and social policy-makers.

This paper describes the development of the Toronto Anti-Bullying Intervention. The effectiveness of the Anti-Bullying Intervention was examined with quantitative and qualitative data gathered before and 18 months after its implementation. The results of this research confirm that bullying continues to be a pervasive problem in Toronto schools. There were some improvements in students' reports of bullying as assessed at the individual, peer, and school levels. Over the first 18 months of the program, children reported increased teacher interventions to stop bullying. More bullies indicated that teachers had talked to them, but there were no differences in the proportion of bullies or victims who had discussed their problems with parents. Fewer children indicated that they could join in a bullying episode following the intervention. There was an increase in the number of children who admitted to bullying, but a decrease in the number of children who had been victimized during the past five days. These inconsistent results raise several issues related to implementing the Anti-Bullying Intervention.

Cet article décrit un programme de pairs aidants implanté en 1989 dans une école secondaire d'un milieu rural du Québec et présente l'évaluation qui a été faite du programme après trois ans de fonctionnement. Les pairs aidants ont amélioré certaines de leurs habiletés personnelles, le réseau de soutien naturel dans l'école s'est amélioré, et la satisfaction des jeunes aidés est élevée; des effets plus généraux sur le climat scolaire n'ont toutefois pas été observés.

The main purpose of this paper is to describe the benefits of employing grounded theory in facilitating primary prevention in schools. In order to do this, we review the main tenets of grounded theory, illustrate how its methodology works, and offer a research example of its application to the study of school change. The research example describes an investigation of the dynamics of change within a high school as perceived by members of the school's community. The information gathered from interview/focus group participants was combined with the work of a school-based committee and the relevant literature to generate a grounded theory of successful school change. The theory integrates a number of factors under three superordinate categories of school change: (a) community ownership, (b) attention to human factors, and (c) proper implementation.

L'implantation d'un programme régional en prévention des toxicomanies dans la région de Montréal a été rendue possible grâce è l'implication des divers partenaires du milieu. Cet article décrit les démarches de concertation et les activités réalisées dans le cadre de ce programme dans deux quartiers pilotes. De plus, il présente la stratégie évaluative privilégiée et donne des exemples des données recueillies et de leur utilisation par les intervenants. La conclusion porte sur la pertinence des niveaux d'évaluation choisis et sur celle du programme tel qu'implanté dans les quartiers pilotes. De plus, quelques recommandations concernant la généralisation de ce dernier sont formulées.

L'augmentation constante des grossesses è l'adolescence observée au Québec au cours de la dernière décennie et leur concentration en milieu de pauvreté ont conduit è l'expérimentation du projet Sexprimer, pour une sexualité responsable auprès d'élèves de troisième et quatrième secondaires de trois écoles de Montréal, de 1987 è 1991. Sexprimer est un programme multifactoriel et intersectoriel de promotion d'une sexualité responsable et de prévention des grossesses è l'adolescence qui propose trois axes d'intervention réalisés concuremment: un programme éducatif, un soutien clinique adapté, et un programme de soutien de la communication parents/adolescents. L'évaluation, réalisée è l'aide d'un devis quasi-expérimental auprès des adolescents (n = 732) et leurs parents, démontre la capacité de l'intervention è accroitre, chez les adolescents, la connaissance des méthodes contraceptives et des ressources cliniques, ainsi que le recours è la consultation clinique, et è induire des comportements préventifs chez les filles qui deviennent actives sexuellement au cours du projet. Chez les parents, on note une amélioration de l'attention parentale et de la communication avec leurs adolescents sur la sexualité et la contraception, effets qui se maintiennent quatre mois après la fin de l'intervention.

Better Beginnings, Better Futures is a 25-year primary prevention policy research demonstration project. Its major purpose is to assess the extent to which community-based primary prevention programs can be effective in preventing emotional, behavioural, physical and cognitive problems in children from economically disadvantaged communities. The project grew out of a number of primary prevention initiatives introduced by the Ontario Ministry of Community and Social Services (MCSS) since the late 1970s. Eleven sites, four of them located on native reserves, received funding in January, 1991 to establish programs in their communities. From the beginning, a qualitative, naturalistic research approach has been utilized to document and understand the ways in which the programs have developed in the various Better Beginnings communities.

Governments at all levels have become increasingly involved in initiating and funding projects within which community residents work collaboratively with local service providers in the development of programs for the betterment of themselves, their families, and their community. Inherent in these initiatives, however, are a number of possible sources of tension which, left unresolved, may hamper the intentions of governments to seed grass-roots solutions to community problems. A qualitative research methodology was used to examine the nature of the relationship between government and community representatives (both residents and local service providers) in establishing community-based primary prevention programs under the auspices of the Better Beginnings, Better Futures initiative of the Government of Ontario. We examine a number of issues and tensions that have arisen from this project, both during the development of the program model by the government, and through to its implementation in several communities in the province.

What impact does the involvement of community residents in developing prevention programs have on the residents themselves, the programs they help to create, and the communities in which they live? The research literature suggests that resident involvement in program decision making can enhance residents' sense of control or empowerment, improve programs and services, and provide a better match between the needs of the community and the kinds of services provided. Much of this literature, however, has focussed on relatively few of the benefits and costs that resident can experience as a result of their involvement. The investigation reported in this paper utilized a qualitative research methodology to discover the outcomes, both positive and negative, that residents derive from their involvement. Prevention programs operating in seven Ontario communities under the auspices of the Better Beginnings. Better Futures primary prevention initiative are featured in the discussion.

Resident participation is the cornerstone of any community-based prevention program. However, many challenges exist which make it difficult to involve residents in a meaningful way in the development of such programs. How can programs be organized so as to provide for significant participation of community residents in the process of program development? This article outlines the procedures that were utilized in seven community-based prevention programs established under the Better Beginnings, Better Futures initiative of the Government of Ontario to enlist the participation of community residents in program decision making and implementation.

This article examines the use of action research strategies over a four-year period in developing and evaluating a prevention program for children and their families. This research has taken place in a low-income multi-cultural neighbourhood in Sudbury. Strategies to foster participation and the practical relevance of findings are described, both for the initial proposal development stage, and for the period after a local program was funded as part of a multisite evaluation project. After reviewing the challenges inherent in doing action research within a multicultural neighbourhood, and within a multi-site design, we discuss which strategies have worked, and what remains to be resolved.