Abstract:

The paper presents partial findings focused on the prevalence of risk factors that threaten the healthy development of children's personality during early adolescence. It continues with the presentation of a project that responds to potential risks in the development of adolescents and aims to support mental health and prevent mental disorders in adolescents. The project focuses on their education through experiential programs led by trained lecturers, as well as on strengthening the professional competences of teachers who work with pupils. Parents of children are also perceived as a key group, so that they are aware of the riskiness of the adolescent period and, in the context of the prevention of mental disorders, have the necessary information on the issue and are able to solve the problem operatively and effectively with experts.
The article also presents partial findings from evaluation research among hundreds of children involved in the program, which focused on the effectiveness of preventive programs in terms of changes in students' knowledge and attitudes.

Keywords:

Early adolescence, mental health, mental disorders, prevalence of risky factors, primary prevention program, evaluation research.