October 22, 2008

A Group Cognitive Behavioral Program for Preventing Depression in At-Risk Adolescents

Principal Investigator: Judy Garber, PhD

Depression is one of the most common problems faced by American youth. This study, conducted in coordination with Vanderbilt University and three other research sites across the country, looks at the effects of a group cognitive behavioral program (CBP) on adolescents who are at-risk for depression.  Because the study was just recently completed, there are not yet publications with the results of this study.

Several studies have shown that a group cognitive behavioral (CB) intervention can be effective in preventing depression. One study showed a six-fold reduction of depression with at-risk adolescents who participated in the program (Clarke, et al, 2001). Another study of college freshman showed that a similar CB program led to a significant decrease in anxiety disorders and depressive episodes (Seligman, et al, 1999).

This five-year study follows 316 at-risk adolescents who have a parent with current and/or past depression. Adolescents also must have a personal history of depression and/or current depressive symptoms that aren’t severe enough to receive a current diagnosis of depression. This study also aims to explore the costs and benefits of the CBP program. This multi-site investigation will demonstrate the extent to which prior findings (Clarke et al., 2001) replicate and generalize to a more geographically diverse sample using therapists who were not involved in the development of the program.

Though this study was approved by the Centerstone IRB, Centerstone did not end up contributing any research participants to this study.

Resources
For a description of a Group Cognitive Behavioral Program with handouts, visit Evidence-Based Programs.

References
Clarke, G.N., Hornbook, M., Lynch, F., Polen, M., Gale, J., Beardslee, W., O’Connor, E., & Seeley, J. (2001). "A randomized trial of a group cognitive intervention for
preventing depression in adolescent offspring of depressed parents." Archives of General Psychiatry. 58: 1127-1134.

Seligman, M.E.P., Schulman, P., DeRubeis, R.J., & Hollon, S.D. (1999). "The prevention of depression and anxiety." Prevention & Treatment. Volume 2, Article 8.