All children in a geographic area or setting (e.g., a school) receive the intervention.
There are two types of universal programs:
- those that focus on particular communities or settings (e.g., a public housing complex) and
- those that are state-, province-, or countrywide.
The setting itself may be a high-risk one for emotional and behavioral problems in children and adolescents, but if the intervention is not targeted at specific children and adolescents but at all children and youth in that location, then the intervention is classified as universal.
In the past, the term primary prevention has been used” (Offord et al., 1998, p. 687).