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Abstract
In this article we review the recent literature on the costeffectiveness of the prevention or treatment of mental disorders in children and adolescents. Two studies on the cost-effectiveness of prevention programmes and 19 studies on the cost-effectiveness of psychiatric interventions were identified. Cost-effectiveness analyses (CEA) based on primary data (14) focused mainly on non-medical interventions, while CEAs based on simulation models (7) focused mainly on drug treatment. CEA studies were conducted mainly in the USA and the UK. The time period of most CEAs is limited to 12 months. Due to methodological differences the results of CEAs are difficult to compare. The findings of the review demonstrate that there is still a huge knowledge gap about which programmes for mental disorder prevention, mental health promotion and treatment for mental disorders in children and adolescents provide the greatest social benefit for the money invested. The gap is especially wide in most European countries.