Mental Health Prevention Among Preschool Children Using a Culturally Adapted Version of ICPS

Plain-language summary

Mental health in Chilean children and families is an urgent public health problem. Prevalence of psychiatric disorders among children between 4 and 11 years old is 27.8%, a higher percentage than was found in adolescents between 12 and 18 years old, which is 16.5%. The most frequent disorders in the population between 4 and 11 years old were disruptive disorders (20.6%), followed by anxiety disorders (9.2%). Mental health problems generate a high burden of disease on society in general; and there is an important treatment gap, especially among economically vulnerable populations. Prevention strategies appear to be the more recommendable options, mainly if these interventions can be implemented early in life and at low cost. Few preventive interventions aiming to increase resilience in the face of adversity, have been rigorously evaluated in Chile among preschoolers. There is substantial international evidence that shows that strengthening basic psychological skills, such as emotion regulation and social problem-solving, can reduce the incidence of mental pathology and improve various academic indicators. The curriculum of the Interpersonal Cognitive Problem Solving Program, also known as I Can Problem Solve (ICPS), is focused on the development of the cognitive process and children's social problem-solving skills. ICPS has been found to be effective in increasing pro-social behaviours and reducing aggressive behaviour among preschoolers. No previous studies in Spanish-speaking Latin American countries have been conducted aiming to explore the acceptability and feasibility of ICPS to provide information to evaluate later the effectiveness of this intervention at a larger scale. The main objective of this study is the evaluation of the acceptability and feasibility of an adapted version of ICPS in the national context at educational institutions with high socio-economic vulnerability, with the ultimate goal of increasing social-emotional competence and reducing emotional and behavioural problems in preschoolers.

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