Fostering Healthy Mental, Emotional, and Behavioral Development in Children and Youth: A National Agenda

The latest in a series of three consensus reports from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), Fostering Healthy Mental, Emotional, and Behavioral Health in Children and Youth: A National Agenda (2019), urges a broad-based effort to improve MEB health for children and youth, organized under the Decade of the Child [ 1 ]. Similar to the past NASEM reports on this topic, this one explores the predictors of and influences behind MEB outcomes, as well as a variety of strategies for reducing risk, enhancing protection, and promoting healthy MEB development. In addition, this report highlights the importance of adolescence in the promotion of lifetime MEB health. Because most MEB disorders emerge by age 24 years, adolescence and young adulthood are crucial times for effective interventions to prevent risks and promote positive development. Ensuring healthy MEB development in adolescents not only decreases lifetime risk for MEB disorders but also serves as a protective factor for future generations.