Prevention of depression in the college student population: a review of the literature

Abstract

The National Institute of Mental Health recommends that interventions be designed to prevent the onset of clinical depression in at-risk groups. College students are included in those groups identified as at risk. This article reports on 16 U.S. clinical trials, conducted with samples of college-aged students between 1987 and 2011, to identify effective depression-prevention strategies. Recommendations from the review of these studies include additional research to determine prevention strategies for the college student population and the use of evidence-based prevention strategies in nursing practice to improve the quality of life for this at-risk population.