Psychological and/or educational interventions for the prevention of depression in children and adolescents.

Depression is the fourth most important disease in the estimation of the burden of disease Murray 1996 and is a common problem with prevalence rates estimated to be as high as 8% in young people. Depression in young people is associated with poor academic performance, social dysfunction, substance abuse, suicide attempts, and completed suicide (NHMRC 1997). This has precipitated the development of programmes aimed at preventing the onset of depression. This review evaluates evidence for the effectiveness of these prevention programmes.