In the past years, the number of mindfulness-based intervention and prevention programs has increased steadily. In order to achieve the intended program outcomes, program implementers need to understand the essential and indispensable components that define a program's success. This chapter describes the complex process of identifying the core…

Rigorous tests of theory-based programs require faithful implementation. Otherwise, lack of results might be attributable to faulty program delivery, faulty theory, or both. However, once the evidence indicates the model works and merits broader dissemination, implementation issues do not fade away. How can developers enhance the likelihood that…

Schools are considered one of the primary settings in which prevention and intervention initiatives can be implemented successfully, reaching a large number of young people. Especially when promoting social and emotional learning (SEL), many adolescents benefit from universal programs implemented in the school context. This chapter embeds…

During adolescence, young people are traversing exciting and also challenging stages in their development. Mindfulness, if taught in a developmentally appropriate way, has the potential to be an asset in adolescents' lives. Developmentally appropriate approaches of mindfulness intervention during adolescence need to consider adolescents'…

As part of its 2011 commitment to the Partnership for Healthier America, the YMCA of the USA (Y-USA) pledged that by 2015, 85 percent of its local Y associations with early childhood or afterschool programs would have at least one program site that met 100 percent of the Y-USA's healthy eating and physical activity (HEPA) standards. To inform…

Prevention field has achieved major advances in developing, implementing, and testing the efficacy of preventive interventions in controlled settings. Nevertheless, there is still a gap in translating the success of programs in efficacy trials into real-life settings. Dissemination of evidence-based programs is a major challenge. The authors argue…

Recent advances in technology are transforming our lives, but in many cases they are also limiting the way children are exposed to local communities and physical spaces. Technology can help young people actively connect with their neighborhoods, but doing that requires different methods and tools from the ones typically available in schools,…