Treatment efficacy of multiple family therapy in helping Hong Kong Chinese parents recover from depression

Joyce, L. C.; Xia, Lily L. L.; Yau-Ng, Monica Lai Tuen; Yan‐Yee, Cindy Yiu

doi:10.1111/1467-6427.12340

Cited by 4 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…In view of the existing knowledge gap, our clinical team and a team of community‐based mental health social workers from the New Life Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association (“the agency”) launched a clinical research project to offer the MFT, a family‐based intervention for Hong Kong Chinese parents in recovery from depression, as a treatment option and assess the efficacy of the MFT for these families. Our study (Ma et al, 2021) showed that after attending the MFT, the psychological distress of the depressed parents in the experimental group (EG) was significantly reduced, and such reduction in symptoms was sustained at the three‐month follow‐up. Compared to the poorly educated depressed parents, highly educated depressed parents benefited more from the MFT.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 69%

“…At the baseline (T1), compared to the CG children, the EG children had more behavioral problems, which may possibly be explained by the fact that the EG depressed parents’ psychological distress levels were higher than those of the CG depressed parents (Ma et al, 2021). The symptoms of depression and anxiety in these depressed parents were more pronounced for depressed mothers with low household incomes and those who had been born outside Hong Kong (Xia & Ma, 2021).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To ensure the agency social workers' professional competence at leading the MFT, our clinical team provided professional training and supervision-workshops, onsite coaching, video reviews, and discussions-for the agency social workers before the start of the project and in the pilot and main phases of the study. These aspects are described in detail elsewhere (Ma et al, 2021).…”

Section: Interventionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The morning session begins with ice‐breaking activities (e.g., speed dating, ball‐throwing, or warm‐up exercises); an intrafamilial activity (e.g., family story, blindfold), with the focus on parent–child/marital interaction, followed by a joint‐lunch break. In the afternoon, the parents (both the depressed parent and the healthy spouse) and their children might attend a parallel group separately or participate jointly in an interfamilial activity (e.g., treasure hunt, radio program) that facilitates intergenerational interaction in general or, specifically, the development of new experiences of being children/parents through various interactions with children and parents of other families (Ma et al, 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Treatment efficacy of multiple family therapy in helping Chinese children of depressed parents in Hong Kong, China

et al. 2021

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This article reports results of a study that assessed the efficacy of multiple family therapy (MFT) for helping children of depressed parent(s), using a quasi‐randomized controlled trial design. In total, 76 children participated in the study, with 51 children were assigned to the experimental group (EG) and 25 to the comparison group (CG). The EG children and their parents completed the three‐month MFT program, while the CG children and their parents attended two psychoeducational talks scheduled at the same time as the MFT. A group × Time repeated measure ANCOVA did not discern the intervention types having any effect on children's lives in the post‐treatment phase or at the three‐month follow‐up. However, the MFT brought some promising positive changes in the EG children's perceived social support, both overall and that from the father and other family members at three‐month follow‐up; compared to the CG children, the EG children also attached more importance to the support from their mothers in the post‐treatment phase and that from other family members at the three‐month follow‐up. The results implied the potential efficacy of the MFT in facilitating an increase in the overall social support of children of depressed parents and their positive interactions with both the healthy and the depressed parent and other family members. Owing to multiple statistical limitations, caution is required while interpreting the results. A larger sample and a more sophisticated research design were suggested for future studies examining the efficacy and therapeutic mechanism of the MFT.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 69%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Interventionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Treatment efficacy of multiple family therapy in helping Chinese children of depressed parents in Hong Kong, China

et al. 2021

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“…Five trials (17%), of which three included children and their relatives and two included adults and their relatives, had a main focus on mood problems. MFT was associated with improvements in mental health, including mood severity, emotional health, and psychological distress (Fristad et al, 2009; Lemmens et al, 2009; Ma et al, 2021). Lemmens et al (2009) reported a decrease in the number of study participants using antidepressant medication.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of multiple family therapy on mental health problems and family functioning: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

Khoury

Dis

et al. 2023

Family Process

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The aim of this systematic review and meta‐analysis was to provide an overview of existing controlled trials focusing on the impact of multiple family therapy (MFT) on mental health problems and family functioning, and to examine the efficacy of MFT. Relevant studies were selected following a screening of 3376 studies identified by a systematic search of seven databases. The following data were extracted: participant characteristics, program characteristics, study characteristics, and information of mental health problems and/or family functioning. A total of 31 peer‐reviewed, English, controlled studies evaluating the effect of MFT were included in the systematic review. Sixteen studies presenting 16 trials were included in the meta‐analysis. All but one of the studies was at risk of bias, with problems concerning confounding, selection of participants and missing data. The findings confirm that MFT is offered in diverse settings, with studies presenting a variety of therapeutic modalities, focal problems, and populations. Individual studies reported some positive findings, including improvements in mental health, vocational outcomes, and social functioning. The findings of the meta‐analysis suggest that MFT is associated with improvements in symptoms of schizophrenia. However, this effect was found not to be significant due to the large amount of heterogeneity. In addition, MFT was associated with small improvements in family functioning. We found little evidence to suggest that MFT successfully alleviates mood and conduct problems. To conclude, more methodologically rigorous research is needed to further examine the potential benefits of MFT, as well as the working mechanisms and core components of MFT.

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Treatment Efficacy of Multiple Family Narrative Therapy for Chinese Families of Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Chan,

Au-Yeung

2024

Child Adolesc Soc Work J

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Treatment efficacy of multiple family therapy in helping Hong Kong Chinese parents recover from depression

Cited by 4 publications

References 22 publications

Treatment efficacy of multiple family therapy in helping Chinese children of depressed parents in Hong Kong, China

Treatment efficacy of multiple family therapy in helping Chinese children of depressed parents in Hong Kong, China

The effect of multiple family therapy on mental health problems and family functioning: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

Treatment Efficacy of Multiple Family Narrative Therapy for Chinese Families of Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: A Randomized Controlled Trial

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