Editorial Mental Health Promotion: Opportunities for School Nursing Research The World Health Organization (WHO) defines mental health as a state of well-being that allows individuals to reach their full potential. In the full state of well-being, individuals can manage everyday stresses and be productive in their own life, consequently in their communities (WHO, 2010). For many years, school health researchers have demonstrated the important relationship between students’ mental health and school per- formance (DeSocio & Hootman, 2004) thus the holistic approach to school nursing care includes mental health promotion. Mental health promo- tion can be delivered across the levels of preven- tion to well populations, those with emerging symptoms who can be treated promptly and to those individuals with illness, with the goal of limiting disability (Allender & Spradley, 2005). School nurses are expert generalists in identifi- cation of the myriad mental health needs of school children. The needs are often exhibited in externalizing behaviors such as fighting, verbal aggressiveness, restlessness, substance use and abuse as well as risky sexual behaviors. Needs are also exhibited in internalizing behaviors such as self-harm, withdrawal, somatic complaints, suicidal ideation, and problem school behaviors related to achievement, attendance, tardiness, and work completion (Cowell, Gross, McNaughton, Ailey, & Fogg, 2005). While symptoms can repre- sent serious psychiatric illness, they also represent lower levels of mental health. Ecologically based studies have shown lower levels of mental health are related to stress factors including disasters, poverty, family problems, community violence, or violence in schools. INDIVIDUAL-FOCUSED INTERVENTIONS As part of the day-to-day work of school nurses, direct care to individuals is familiar and easy to manage because system barriers are not as apparent during a student encounter. Summach (2011) reports the findings of her study identify- ing strategies that school nurses use to foster trust- ing relationships among high school students. The strategies can be applied to promoting mental health. The challenges to developing trust are often the result of system barriers including the time school nurses spend in school, the number of schools that nurses serve, the access students have to the school nurse and the limited coopera- tion among disciplines. POPULATION-FOCUSED MENTAL HEALTH PROMOTION Population mental health promotion depends on interdisciplinary approaches across settings. Population mental health promotion strategies for children have shown that empowerment of women has limited mental health problems among youth. For example, decades of research showing the power of home-visiting programs to women during pregnancy and into toddlerhood that focus not only on health issues but education and employment of mothers, prevent multiple JOSN, Vol. 27 No. 2, April 2011 91-92 DOI: 10.1177/1059840511401342 # 2011 The National Association for School Nurses 91