Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2010 May;27(5):426-33.
doi: 10.1002/da.20664.

Preventing depression: a randomized trial of interpersonal psychotherapy-adolescent skills training

Jami F Young  1 , Laura Mufson, Robert Gallop
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Preventing depression: a randomized trial of interpersonal psychotherapy-adolescent skills training

Jami F Young et al. Depress Anxiety. 2010 May.

Abstract

Background: The study evaluated the efficacy of an indicated prevention program for adolescent depression.

Methods: Fifty-seven adolescents with elevated depression symptoms were randomized to receive Interpersonal Psychotherapy-Adolescent Skills Training (IPT-AST) or school counseling (SC). Hierarchical linear modeling examined differences in rates of change in depression symptoms and overall functioning and analysis of covariance examined mean differences between groups. Rates of depression diagnoses in the 18-month follow-up period were compared.

Results: Adolescents in IPT-AST reported significantly greater rates of change in depression symptoms and overall functioning than SC adolescents from baseline to post-intervention. At post-intervention, IPT-AST adolescents reported significantly fewer depression symptoms and better overall functioning. During the follow-up phase, rates of change slowed for the IPT-AST adolescents, whereas the SC adolescents continued to show improvements. By 12-month follow-up, there were no significant mean differences in depression symptoms or overall functioning between the two groups. IPT-AST adolescents reported significantly fewer depression diagnoses in the first 6 months following the intervention but by 12-month follow-up the difference in rates of diagnoses was no longer significant.

Conclusions: IPT-AST leads to an immediate reduction in depression symptoms and improvement in overall functioning. However, the benefits of IPT-AST are not consistent beyond the 6-month follow-up, suggesting that the preventive effects of the program in its current format are limited. Future studies are needed to examine whether booster sessions lengthen the long-term effects of IPT-AST.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Study flow chart.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Mean profile plots for the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale (CES-D).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Mean profile plots for the Children’s Depression Rating Scale-Revised (CDRS-R).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Mean profile plots for the Children’s Global Assessment Scale (CGAS).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Fergusson DM, Woodward LJ. Mental health, educational, and social role outcomes of adolescents with depression. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2002;59:225–231. - PubMed
    1. Weisz JR, McCarty CA, Valeri SM. Effects of psychotherapy for depression in children and adolescents: A meta-analysis. Psychol Bull. 2006;132:132–149. - PMC - PubMed
    1. US Public Health Service. Washington, DC: US Public Health Service; 2000. Report of the Surgeon General’s conference on children’s mental health: a national action agenda. - PubMed
    1. Gordon RS. An operational classification of disease prevention. Public Health Rep. 1983;98:107–109. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Fergusson DM, Horwood J, Ridder EM, Beautrais AL. Subthreshold depression in adolescence and mental health outcomes in adulthood. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2005;62:66–72. - PubMed

Publication types