A team of researchers from the Department of Psychology of the University of Jaén, led by Manuel Vivas-Fernández, Luis-Joaquín García-López and David Jiménez-Vázquez, has carried out a systematic review to evaluate the effectiveness of selective preventive interventions in reducing symptoms of anxiety and depression in adolescents. This work, which focuses on an increasingly worrying public health problem, used international databases such as PsycINFO, Pubmed and Medline to identify relevant studies.
The analysis included five studies that met the eligibility criteria. The results showed that, although the interventions varied considerably in their methodologies, they generally presented moderate levels of improvement in anxiety and depression symptoms, especially in medium and long-term follow-ups.
The researchers conclude that it is crucial to increase the number of studies focused on the selective prevention of emotional problems in children and adolescents, using a transdiagnostic approach that includes follow-up assessments to measure long-term effectiveness. This research underscores the need to develop and refine prevention programs that can be implemented in diverse youth populations to effectively address the increasing prevalence of these emotional disorders.
Link: https://revistapcna.com/sites/default/files/23_43.1_0.pdf