The Effect of Two School-based Intervention Programs on Depressive Symptoms in Preadolescents

Abstract

Fifty-six fifth-and sixth-grade children, manifesting depressive symptoms as judged by teachers and in response to a self-report Depression Battery were assigned to one of the following 10-week intervention conditions: Role Play (treatment), Cognitive Restructuring (treatment), Attention Placebo, or Control. Both quantitative and qualitative improvements were observed for several children in the Role Play and Cognitive Restructuring treatments, though the gain was more dramatic in Role Play.This study evolved from the concerns of teachers, social workers, and school psychologists who requested guidance in dealing with an increasing number of withdrawn, self-deprecating, under-achieving boys and girls (Miezitis, Friedman, Butler, & Blanchard, Note 1). Though these children were not sufficiently disturbed to be withdrawn from school, their depressive affect, ideation, and behavior were interfering with social-emotional and intellectual development.Two methods of intervention were assessed in the study: Role Play and Cognitive Restructuring. In each case, the program consisted of 10 1-hour sessions held weekly with groups of seven children. The children were taken from class to meet with the group leader in a separate room in the school.

Systematic review of efficacy of cognitive behaviour therapies in childhood and adolescent depressive disorder

“…Four studies were excluded because assignment to treatment was not random,16 – 19 one because it was an interim analysis of an ongoing study,20 and 11 because they involved children with depressive symptoms and not depressive disorder 21 – 31. This left six randomised trials of cognitive behaviour therapy for depressive disorder in young people 32 – 37.…”

Cognitive-behavioural treatment of depressive disorder in child psychiatric patients — rationale and description of a treatment package

“…However, probably the most promising of the existent psychological treatments is cognitive-behaviour therapy (CBT), which has been evaluated in several studies of depressed children and adolescents from non-clinical samples (Butler et al, 1980;Reynolds & Coats, 1986;Stark et al, 1987;Lewinsohn et al, 1990;Stark, 1990). This paper describes the background and development of a cognitive-behaviour therapy programme suitable for use with child psychiatric patients suffering with depressive disorders.…”

Developing Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to Prevent Depressive Relapse in Youth

“…In the subsequent early sessions (Sessions 2–4), core skills are introduced and tailored to the patient’s residual symptoms, clinical issues, and goals. These core skills include behavioral coping skills (Stark, Reynolds, & Kaslow, 1987), negative automatic thoughts and cognitive restructuring (Brent et al, 1997), and problem solving (Butler, Meitzitis, Friedman, & Cole, 1980; Stark et al, 1987). The treatment emphasizes the practice of core skills and application of these skills to individual issues in order to reinforce the skills and to increase their relevance to the patient.…”