Selective Prevention Transdiagnostic Intervention for At-risk Adolescents With Booster Sessions. (PROCARE+ 2.0)

Emotional disorders such as anxiety and depression are significantly underdiagnosed and undertreated, even though they are some of the most prevalent mental health conditions, especially among young individuals. Approximately 50% of mental health disorders manifest by the age of 14, and around 75% appear by the age of 24, underscoring the critical importance of addressing these issues during adolescence. Unfortunately, during this developmental stage, early warning signs and even fully developed clinical conditions often go unnoticed, undiagnosed, and untreated. Nonetheless, there is a lack of established, evidence-backed procedures aimed at reaching out to adolescents at risk of developing emotional disorders. Urgently required is a fundamental shift in our approach by creating intervention protocols that allow for the early identification and treatment of at-risk adolescents, thus averting the potential development of severe mental health disorders as they mature. The selective prevention of mental health issues is a crucial element in assisting at-risk adolescents in flourishing before emotional disorders progress. To address this gap, PROCARE+ was conceived as a modularized selective prevention program for adolescents aged 12 to 18 years. Using a personalized medicine approach, PROCARE+ successfully allowed for the adaptation of intervention protocols according to the specific needs of each individual, while also identifying vulnerable individuals based on risk factors. This research aims to maximize and extend the impact on the adolescent population in the post-COVID-19 pandemic stage and will analyze the effectiveness of implementing booster sessions. PROCARE + stratifies adolescents based on their risk and resilience status and will deliver, alongside a core intervention, new specific add-on modules designed to address risk factors identified by adolescents: : 1) Situations of rejection, bullying, and cyberbullying; 2) Addiction to new technologies such as v