The school context has been identified as a strategic local for the development of prevention and health promotion practices, as it concentrates a large part of the children and youth population in a single environment since early childhood. The incidence of mental disorders, such as emotional and behavioral problems, has been associated with difficulties in relation to school performance, which constitutes a matter of public health relevance due to the clinical and social consequences that they entail. In this sense, the present research proposal intends to address child mental health prevention in the school context with a view to improving school performance. For that purpose, two studies were developed:

Study 1, entitled “Relationship between children’s mental health, their parents and teachers and school performance”, sought to assess individual factors of the child (gender, age, emotional and behavioral problems and social competence), family (parents’ education) , family setting and environment, presence of resources for learning, emotional and behavior problems of parents or legal guardians) and school (emotional and behavior problems of teachers, school routine and family-school involvement) and their interrelation with children’s school performance.  It is also intended to identify which of the predictive variables considered (parents ‘mental health, teachers’ mental health and family-school involvement) best explain mental health and children’s school performance. Finally, a booklet based on the research data was developed, with a view to transmitting relevant information on the subject to sensitize teachers, families and the school community towards a biopsychosocial understanding of child health-disease processes. This proposal is in line with psychological literacy and with initiatives to popularize science.

Afterwards, Study 2, entitled “Development and evaluation of preventive interventions in child mental health based on socio-emotional learning”, was carried out, which aimed to develop mental health prevention actions in the school context, which were based on the perspective socio-emotional learning. An intervention characterized as universal or primary prevention was developed, aimed at students supposedly without risk associated with the development of emotional and behavioral problems, which aimed to develop or improve socio-emotional competence, and also a selective or secondary prevention intervention, which it involved actions aimed at students identified as having some risk directly or indirectly related to the development of emotional and behavioral problems, which were identified in Study 1. Such intervention brought together actions aimed at the most punctual needs of the students.

 It is hoped that the data may give rise to the reflection that the construction of knowledge and the transmission of information are intrinsically related to the development of socio-emotional competences. Together, it is also hoped that the results of the studies will influence changes in educational and health policies and practices, in order to expand the resources and opportunities for implementing preventive interventions with children, parents and teachers, as well as supporting the development of empirically validated treatment techniques aimed at children’s mental health.

Keywords: primary prevention, secondary prevention, mental health, emotional problems, behavior problems, socioemotional learning, school, child.