Editorial: Prevention in Child Health Psychology and the Journal of Pediatric Psychology

Abstract

Prevention science is a cornerstone of the field of public health. Consistent with that view, it is a science seeking to reduce and avoid the development of illness and lifestyle-related health risks (Institute of Medicine, 2002). Prevention is sometimes defined by where its activities take place in the illness process, and at other times by the level of risk in the population of interest. When defined by the illness process, three levels of prevention are commonly referred to. These levels are primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention. Primary prevention emphasizes prevention activities taking place prior to the onset of illness, secondary prevention emphasizes prevention activities taking place among those at risk for illness (e.g., enhancing opportunities to prevent illness progression), and tertiary prevention emphasizes prevention activities taking place after illness diagnosis (e.g., preventing or slowing further progression, restoring functioning, and reducing morbidity) (Commission on Chronic Illness, 1957). When defined by population risk, universal prevention emphasizes activities promoting health or decreasing illness for all individuals regardless of their risk status, selective prevention emphasizes activities targeting at risk groups or those showing early illness signs, and indicated prevention refers to activities preventing illness progression among those in the very highest risk categories (Mrazek & Haggerty, 1994). Other forms of prevention include education, counseling, laws, policies, and environmental regulations—all of which are designed to protect public health and welfare (Friis & Sellers, 2004). With these definitions in mind, potential topics falling within the prevention science section of the Journal of Pediatric Psychology are those most likely addressed by one or more national prevention frameworks, such as Healthy People (www.healthypeople.gov) or the Preventive Services Task Force (www.ahrq.gov/clinic/uspstfix.htm), or by organizations such as the American Academy of Pediatrics (www.aap.org), and that seek to promote and improve health in the young. Examples of these topics include social and biobehavioral aspects of alcohol, tobacco, and substance use, mental health, HIV/AIDS, violence, injuries and accidents, pregnancy, suicide, delinquency, sexually transmitted diseases, obesity, diet/nutrition, and physical activity, and topics focusing on prevention theory, methods, and related matters (e.g., structure, process, and content of prevention efforts, as well as discussion of the timing, measurement, duration, reach, moderation, and mediation of prevention). Recognizing that the targets of prevention efforts are often multifaceted and include biological, social, environmental, psychological, and behavioral processes, work that seeks to better define, elucidate, model, and understand these influences and their interactions are especially important.