RISK FACTORS AND POPULATION GROUPS WITH RISK FOR DEVELOPING MENTAL DISORDERS FOLLOWING DISTRESS

Introduction: The main aspects of risk factors and population  groups at high risk are presented as notions created by specific primary psychoprophylaxis. The following ideas are put forward:

–  These notions take into consideration not only the possibility that certain affections may appear but also the suffering that precedes the establishment of disorders that could be framed into a diagnosis. It is an issue extending the scope of the specific primary psychoprophylaxis to stimulate the enhan- cement of the quality of life.
–  These notions do not mean that the disease is certain, but that the individual is more threatened than he is in ordinary circumstances.
–  Their identification determines not only the commitment  to certain preventive measures but also the anxiety generated in the individual by the aware- ness of the risk. This second aspect should be thoroughly considered by those who monitor otherwise healthy people who are not all under real threat.
–  There are also highlighted  the reference points allowing the calculation of population  size to be addressed preventively and of the effectiveness of intervention.

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