This competing renewal proposal for the Michigan Prevention Research Center represents the next step in a long term coordinated program of research on the prevention of emotional and behavioral disorders in psychologically vulnerable individuals and families experiencing work transitions and economic stress. We propose to continue the program of prevention research of the Michigan Prevention Research Center with a new expanded emphasis on the reduction of risks for depression and its recurrence and associated disability and other co-occurring illnesses. In addition, we propose to expand our focus from job loss to include a wider range of vulnerable individuals and families who are at risk. In order to accomplish this, we propose to continue the Michigan Prevention Research Center (MPRC) as a national resource for prevention research providing scientific infrastructure to conduct randomized controlled field trials testing the efficacy, effectiveness and cost effectiveness of preventive programs. The program will be carried out by implementing four interlocking specific aims, each represented by a core. The cores are designed to provide high quality scientific infrastructure for: 1) conducting efficacy trials of preventive interventions with high risk individuals and families whose members show various signs of psychiatric vulnerability and who are coping with the stresses of economic hardship, 2) implementing trials to test the effectiveness and cost effectiveness of previously proven preventive interventions in communities and service systems, 3) supporting a national capacity for methodological advances in measurement, analysis and data management for preventive trials, serving both MPRC researchers and prevention scientists nationwide, and 4) providing the infrastructure for research planning, community collaboration and mentoring.
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