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
. 2020 Jul 24;18(1):188.
doi: 10.1186/s12916-020-01656-0.

Randomized control trial testing the effectiveness of implemented depression prevention in high-risk adolescents

Karlijn W J de Jonge-Heesen  1   2 , Sanne P A Rasing  3   4 , Ad A Vermulst  3 , Ron H J Scholte  5   6 , Kim M van Ettekoven  3   7 , Rutger C M E Engels  7 , Daan H M Creemers  3   6
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Randomized control trial testing the effectiveness of implemented depression prevention in high-risk adolescents

Karlijn W J de Jonge-Heesen et al. BMC Med. .

Abstract

Background: Adolescent depression is a global mental health concern. Identification and effective prevention in an early stage are necessary. The present randomized, controlled trial aimed to examine the effectiveness of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)-based depression prevention in adolescents with elevated depressive symptoms. This prevention approach is implemented in school communities, which allows to examine effects under real-life circumstances.

Methods: A total of 5222 adolescents were screened for elevated depressive symptoms in the second grade of secondary schools; 130 adolescents aged between 12 and 16 years old (M = 13.59; SD = 0.68; 63.8% girls) were randomly assigned to the experimental (OVK 2.0) or control condition (psycho-education). Self- and parent-reported depressive symptoms were assessed at pretest and post intervention, as well as 6- and 12-months follow-up. Clinical assessment of depression was assessed at pretest and 6-months follow-up.

Results: Intent-to-treat analyses revealed that the decrease in adolescent-rated depressive symptoms was significantly larger in the intervention condition than in the control condition. There was no significant difference in decrease of parent-rated depressive symptoms between both conditions.

Conclusions: Based on the findings, we recommend the implementation of screening and prevention in schools, according the basics of this study design. Since this is a new step forward, we discuss the clinical impact and challenges, as well possibilities for future research.

Trial registration: The study is registered in the Dutch Trial Register for RCT's ( NTR5725 ). Date registered: 11 March 2016.

Keywords: Adolescence; Cognitive behavioral therapy; Depression; Prevention; School.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flow diagram of participants
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Mean scores of adolescent-reported depressive symptoms over time in the experimental and control condition
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Mean scores of parent-rated depressive symptoms over time in the experimental and control condition
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. WHO . Depression. 2019.
    1. Kessler RC, Berglund P, Demler O, Jin R, Merikangas KR, Walters EE. Lifetime prevalence and age-of-onset distributions of DSM-IV disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication. JAMA Psychiatry. 2005;62(6):593–602. - PubMed
    1. Ormel J, Raven D, Van Oort F, Hartman C, Reijneveld S, Veenstra R, et al. Mental health in Dutch adolescents: a TRAILS report on prevalence, severity, age of onset, continuity and co-morbidity of DSM disorders. Psychol Med. 2015;45(2):345–360. - PubMed
    1. Avenevoli S, Swendsen J, He J-P, Burstein M, Merikangas KR. Major depression in the national comorbidity survey–adolescent supplement: prevalence, correlates, and treatment. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2015;54(1):37–44. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Carrellas NW, Biederman J, Uchida M. How prevalent and morbid are subthreshold manifestations of major depression in adolescents? A literature review. J Affect Disord. 2017;210:166–173. - PubMed

Publication types

Associated data