![]() Early intervention: a moral and an economic caseĮarly intervention and prevention are increasingly promoted by governments both in the UK and abroad ( Mortimer, McKeown, & Singh, 2018). We will conclude by drawing on insights from critiques of the public health strategy of nudging to show how the moral status of proposals for managing the conditions may differ depending on the socio-economic positioning of those to whom the proposals are made.Ģ. To do this we will use a theoretical examination of the concept of coercion and apply it to policy proposals for management of these conditions. We will focus on two disorders commonly diagnosed in childhood, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and conduct disorder (CD), to illustrate how issues of coercion may arise in proposals for managing challenging behaviour towards the realisation of the apparently virtuous circle of individual and collective goods. We call for critical scrutiny of this alleged virtuous circle, by raising the concern that young people may be coerced to undergo preventative interventions for the good of society, and in the process their individual goals and values may be undermined, with their capacity for authentic agency unjustly constrained. We will begin by showing that within UK government policy, the case for prevention and early intervention in mental health relies on the existence of a virtuous circle between societal and individual interests, wherein the good of the individual and the good of society are perfectly aligned. Early intervention includes both early detection of disorders, and the use of psychosocial and pharmacological interventions for the phase-specific treatment of the earlier stages of illness ( McGorry & Pelosi, 2008). In this context, prevention involves identifying individuals at risk of developing a disorder and taking action before the condition becomes manifest. It follows that society should take child mental health very seriously and should consider strategies for prevention and early intervention. Yet most of them, 60%e70%, do not receive appropriate and timely interventions ( Department of Health, 2015). According to the latest published national study on young people’s mental health in UK, 1 out of 10 children aged 5–16 has a diagnosable problem ( Mental Health Taskforce, 2016). Half of all people who develop mental disorders experience their first symptoms by the age of 14%, and 75% have had their first symptom by their mid-20s ( Department of Health, 2017 Khan, Parsonage, & Stubbs, 2015). ![]()
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