And, she says, if she ruled the world for a day, she would make sure that prevention efforts began with educating new parents how to adequately and effectively function as the major influence in their child's life.

Phelps, who has written more than 60 book chapters and journal entries on assessment issues and health-related disorders in children and adolescents, says she is strongly committed to investing in community prevention programs.

"If we want to make a difference, we need to begin working with three-year-olds," says Phelps, professor and director of UB's School Psychology Program in the Department of Counseling and Educational Psychology. "Long-term problems often develop as a result of inadequate parenting and a faulty environment, rather than from biological differences."

Her interest in prevention surfaced early in her career while she was working in a clinical setting with a 35-year-old paranoid schizophrenic.

"There was so little that could be done to help the patient," she recalls. "It became so abundantly clear to me that if we want to make a difference, we have to start doing something at the child or adolescent stage of development."

Earlier this year, Phelps edited a guidebook published by the American Psychological Association entitled "Health-Related Disorders in Children and Adolescents" to help educate teachers, school psychologists, clinical child psychologists and medical professionals about 96 different medical conditions affecting children.

Phelps' most recent research interests have involved adolescent eating disorders and their prevention, the effects of prenatal cocaine use on early child development, and assessing the cultural bias of intelligence tests.

She has done extensive research and programming on the pervasive social problem of eating disorders, which, she notes, have increased dramatically in the past 20 years as a direct result of our sociocultural influences, particularly the media.

"Look at Marilyn Monroe," she points out. "Our sense of what is beautiful has changed. Today, if you look at women in ads, as well as female actresses and performers, it becomes evident. Many of these women would meet the criteria for anorexia."

The most common misconception about eating disorders like anorexia nervosa and bulimia, she notes, is that they are rare or indicate a dysfunctional individual.

"The truth is that this is a fairly common phenomenon, but it also is a 'hidden disorder,' meaning those who are affected tend to hide their symptoms," says Phelps. "Fifteen to 30 percent of women participate in behaviors that can be characterized as eating disorders at sub-clinical, rather than diagnostic, levels."

Based on her research, she has found that the most effective way to deal with the problem is direct prevention programming for both female and male young adolescents that identifies risk factors while reducing elements that may put adolescents in jeopardy.

She links sociocultural pressures to the acceptance of a thin, yet unrealistic ideal which, if internalized, can lead to body dissatisfaction and the motivation to take part in weight-control or eating-disordered behavior. "As early as 12 years of age, young women with self-doubt and low self-esteem are psychologically vulnerable to body dissatisfaction, which can lead to eating disorders," Phelps notes.

A prevention package she and a research team developed has been very successful in reducing the risk for adolescent females and young women to develop an eating disorder by building physical self-esteem and personal competence while reducing body dissatisfaction.

She also found that it is essential that prevention incorporates males but the sessions need to be done in separate gender groups. The presence of males during the sessions decreased the amount and depth of group discussion and self-disclosure among the female participants.

The program, which also was adapted for college students in sororities, is outlined in a book chapter titled "The Efficacy of an Eating Disorder School-based Prevention Program: Building Physical Self-Esteem and Personal Competence," which will appear in an upcoming handbook on the prevention of eating disorders.

According to Phelps, it is important to focus on prevention in the school-setting, since schools today are becoming more of a socializing agent. She adds that society cannot depend on parents to take the appropriate amount of responsibility in children's development.

"The attitude has always been that schools are just for education. However...many behavioral, emotional and psychological problems can affect academic performance."

Many communities are moving toward the idea of a full-service school, Phelps points out. "Schools are becoming a place where students receive much of their health care, including mental-health care."