Genes and environment: children and youth at risk for mental health problems

Mental health problems seem to run in families, putting certain children and youth at high risk. Over the years, researchers have debated whether this is primarily the result of nature (e.g. genetics) or nurture (e.g. parenting or other elements of the developmental context). This Café explains how genes and environment interact to co-produce greater risk or greater protections against mental health problems at the early stages of childhood development. It also explains ways in which we can strategize for building up mental health capacity in our children and young people, now and for the future.