Comparison of Three Therapy-Based Interventions for Preventing Depression in Adolescents

Prevention of Depression in Adolescents

This study will compare Interpersonal Psychotherapy-Adolescent Skills Training (IPT-AST), IPT-AST plus parent involvement (Enhanced IPT-AST), and Usual Care for the prevention of adolescent depression.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Depression
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: IPT-AST; Other: Enhanced IPT-AST; Other: School counseling

Detailed Description

Depression is a serious medical illness that is difficult to diagnose and treat, especially in children and adolescents. Signs of depression in children may include the following behaviors: pretending to be sick; refusing to go to school; clinging to a parent; or worrying that a parent may die. Older children may sulk, behave inappropriately at school, act in a negative or grouchy manner, or feel misunderstood. Because normal behaviors vary from one childhood stage to another, it can be difficult to determine whether a child is going through a temporary "phase" or is suffering from depression. This study will compare IPT-AST, Enhanced IPT-AST, and Usual Care for the prevention of adolescent depression.

Participation in this single-blind study will last approximately 21 months. Participants will be randomly assigned to receive either IPT-AST, Enhanced IPT-AST, or Usual Care for 12 weeks. IPT-AST is a school-based group intervention program that focuses on prevention, psychoeducation, and interpersonal skill-building. Enhanced IPT-AST will entail IPT-AST plus three parent-adolescent sessions. Usual Care will consist of standard treatments and will not include IPT-AST. Study visits will occur before and during the intervention at baseline and Weeks 6 and 12. Follow-up visits will occur 6, 12, and 18 months post-intervention. Study visit assessments will include depression symptoms, anxiety symptoms, psychiatric diagnoses, overall functioning, social adjustment, parent-child conflict, perceived support from parents and peers, and service utilization.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 57
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • New Jersey
    • Piscataway, New Jersey, United States, 08554
      • Rutgers University
  • New York
    • New York, New York, United States, 10032
      • New York State Psychiatric Institute

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 11 years to 17 years (Child)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Between grades 7 and 10 in school
• Score of at least 16 on the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Short Depression Scale (CES-D)
• Currently experiencing at least 2 symptoms on the K-SADS depression section, one of which is either depressed mood, irritability, or an inability to feel pleasure during normal activities
• Score of at least 61 on the Children's Global Assessment Scale (CGAS), indicating mild to moderate impairment
• English-speaking

Exclusion Criteria:

• Score of 15 or less on the CES-D scale
• Currently experiencing fewer than 2 depression symptoms on the K-SADS or 2 or more symptoms on the K-SADS with no report of depressed mood, irritability, or anhedonia
• Attempted suicide or self-mutilation in the year prior to study entry
• Current active suicidal ideation and/or history of a clinically significant suicidal behavior (i.e., with intent to die and high medical lethality) or repeated patterns of self-injurious behavior
• Current major depressive disorder or dysthymia as determined by K-SADS
• Current DSM-IV diagnosis of psychosis, substance abuse or dependence, bipolar disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, panic disorder, or conduct disorder as determined by K-SADS
• Score of 60 or less on the CGAS, indicating substantial functional impairment

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Prevention
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

3

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: 1; Interpersonal Psychotherapy-Adolescent Skills Training (IPT-AST)	Behavioral: IPT-AST; IPT-AST is a school based group treatment program that focuses on prevention, psychoeducation, and interpersonal skill building.
Experimental: 2; Enhanced IPT-AST	Other: Enhanced IPT-AST; Enhanced IPT-AST entails IPT-AST plus three parent-adolescent sessions.
Active Comparator: 3; Typical school counseling	Other: School counseling; Usual care consists of standard treatments, including individual counseling with guidance counselor.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Time Frame
Score on the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale	Measured immediately post-treatment and at Months 6, 12, and 18 follow-ups
Rating on Children's Global Assessment Scale	Measured immediately post-treatment and at Months 6, 12, and 18 follow-ups
Depression diagnoses on the Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia (K-SADS) diagnostic instrument	Measured immediately post-treatment and at Months 6, 12, and 18 follow-ups

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Time Frame
Score on the Conflict Behavior Questionnaire	Measured immediately post-treatment and at Months 6, 12, and 18 follow-ups
Score on the Social Adjustment Scale	Measured immediately post-treatment and at Months 6, 12, and 18 follow-ups
Score on the Perceived Social Support scale	Measured immediately post-treatment and at Months 6, 12, and 18 follow-ups

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
• Collaborators: National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH); Rutgers University
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Jami F. Young, PhD, Rutgers University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: November 1, 2005
• Primary Completion (Actual): January 1, 2008
• Study Completion (Actual): June 1, 2009

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: November 23, 2005
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 23, 2005
• First Posted (Estimate): November 28, 2005

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): October 8, 2020
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 5, 2020
• Last Verified: October 1, 2020

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Adolescent; Prevention
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Behavioral Symptoms; Mental Disorders; Mood Disorders; Depression; Depressive Disorder
• Other Study ID Numbers: K23MH071320 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract); DSIR 8K-RTCT (NIMH DSIR)