Challenges in intervention research on adolescent development

Abstract

The field of intervention and prevention research is rapidly growing. In this general discussion of the studies in the special issue on intervention and prevention with adolescents, we highlight some of the challenges facing researchers in this field. One is the community perspective. Family and school are the primary settings for intervention research today, and this special issue covers various approaches to family- and school-based interventions. Taking a community perspective, the question becomes how these different interventions can be co-ordinated across contexts and be integrated in a local community's broader intervention policies and activities. Another challenge for intervention and prevention research is to use better designs in order to better understand how interventions into young peoples′ lives affect their future health and adjustment. Overall, the studies in this special issue illustrate well the many challenges that intervention researchers face when they go from theory to practice.