Group Treatment for Adolescents With Depression

Youth with depressive symptoms are at risk for a range of problems later in life. This includes problematic interpersonal relationships, occupational stress, and the occurrence of adult mental disorders. The main purpose of this study is to test how effective two types of group therapy are at reducing depressive symptoms in youth. A focus on group therapy is important because group therapy allows for many youth to be treated in a short amount of time. Group therapy is also helpful because youth can get social support and feel less alone in their symptoms when they participate in group. This study compares two groups, one that targets skills for managing difficult emotional experiences (dialectical behavior therapy skills group) and another group focuses on psychoeducation and is based on a publicly available treatment manual from the Services for Teens At Risk (STAR) Center at the University of Pittsburgh. The results of this study will provide insights regarding the comparative efficacy of these two treatments, and regarding predictors of treatment response.

Study Overview

• Status: Terminated
• Conditions: Depression
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Group; Behavioral: Psychoeducation group treatment

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 11
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Canada
  • Ontario
    • Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M4N3M5
      • Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 14 years to 19 years (Child, Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• English speaking
• male or female, ages 14 to 19, all races and ethnicities
• Current depression as assessed by an ALIFE - PSR score equal to or greater than 4
• Has a treating psychiatrist at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre

Exclusion Criteria:

• Current manic episode
• current psychosis

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Group; Twelve week skills based group therapy include four modules: mindfulness, emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and walking the middle path	Behavioral: Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Group
Experimental: Psychoeducation group treatment; The comparison group used in the present study is based on a publicly available treatment manual from the Services for Teens At Risk (STAR) Center at the University of Pittsburgh	Behavioral: Psychoeducation group treatment

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Children's Depression Rating Scale - Revise (CDRS-R)	Measure mood symptom severity. Response is defined as greater than or equal to 50% reduction in CDRS-R score	Change from baseline to endpoint (assessed at weeks 0, 12, 24)
The Longitudinal Interval Follow-up Evaluation for adolescents (A-LIFE)	Used to track symptom severity, treatment (both psychosocial and psychotropic), self-injurious/suicidal behavior and psychosocial functioning over time.	Change from baseline to endpoint (assessed at weeks 0, 12 and 24)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
The Adverse Childhood Experiences	Used to measure adverse events that have happened up until the 18th year of life	Assessed at baseline
The Children's Affective Lability Scale	Used to ascertain adolescent and parent reported affect regulation, during the preceding year or time since last assessment	Change from baseline to endpoint (assessed at weeks 0, 4, 12 and 24)
The Stressful Life Events Schedule	Used to ascertain 80 adolescent and parent reported negative life events, during the preceding year or time since last assessment	Change from baseline to endpoint (assessed at weeks 0, 4, 12, and 24)
The DBT Ways of Coping Checklist	This is a self-reported questionnaire used to assess adaptive and maladaptive ways to cope with negative emotions or problematic situations	Change from baseline to endpoint (assessed at weeks 0, 4, 12, and 24)
The Life Problems Inventory	This is a self-reported questionnaire (adolescent-reported) used to assess emotion dysregulation in the adolescent.	Change from baseline to endpoint (assessed at weeks 0, 4, 12, and 24)

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Benjamin I Goldstein, MD, Sunnybrook Health Science Centre

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: December 1, 2013
• Primary Completion (Actual): November 1, 2014
• Study Completion (Actual): November 1, 2014

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: April 14, 2014
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 14, 2014
• First Posted (Estimate): April 16, 2014

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimate): November 17, 2015
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 16, 2015
• Last Verified: November 1, 2015

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Behavioral Symptoms; Mental Disorders; Mood Disorders; Depression; Depressive Disorder
• Other Study ID Numbers: 213-2012