Given our growing knowledge of the impact that mental health has on the individual and society it becomes imperative that we investigate the factors that serve to increase or decrease mental health. Research to date has tended to focus on proximal factors that may cause mental health disorders. This proposed research aims to investigate the interaction between early life stressors and early life protective factors and their impact on adolescent mental health outcomes. The overall objective of this research is to contribute to a better understanding of factors affecting mental illnesses experienced by children and youth. It is hoped that this research may contribute to the body of knowledge of preventative measures that can be taken especially as regards to prenatal, postpartum and early childhood care.