Do you want to find the latest evidence concerning mental ill-health in young people?
The Evidence Finder tool allows you to search published studies of treatment and prevention strategies for mental health and substance use issues in young people. You can use the filters to refine your search or browse by category.
Disorders - Depressive Disorders
Geller, B., Cooper, T. B., McCombs, H. G., Graham, D., Wells, J.
Psychopharmacology Bulletin, 25(1) : 101-8
- Year: 1989
- Problem: Depressive Disorders
- Type: Randomised controlled trials
-
Stage: Disorder established (diagnosed disorder)
-
Treatment and intervention: Biological Interventions (any)
, Tricyclic antidepressants
Gwynn, C., Brantley, H.
Investigated the effectiveness of a primary prevention educational support group for children of divorce. Experimental subjects, children aged 9-11, participated in eight weekly group sessions while their yoked controls attended regular classes. The group interventions resulted in significant decreases in depression, anxiety, and negative feelings about divorce, and a significant increase on divorce information.
Psychology in the Schools, 24 : 161-164
- Year: 1987
- Problem: Depressive Disorders
- Type: Randomised controlled trials
-
Stage: At risk (indicated or selected prevention)
-
Treatment and intervention: Psychological Interventions (any)
, Psychoeducation, Skills training
Sonis, W. A., Yellin, A. M., Garfinkel, B. D., Hoberman, H. H.
Psychopharmacology Bulletin, 23(3) : 360-3
- Year: 1987
- Problem: Depressive Disorders
- Type: Randomised controlled trials
-
Stage: Disorder established (diagnosed disorder)
-
Treatment and intervention: Complementary & Alternative Interventions (CAM)
, Bright light therapy
Stark, K. D., Reynolds, W. M., Kaslow, N. J.
Twenty-nine children 9 to 12 years old who were identified as moderately to severely depressed using the Children's Depression Inventory were randomly assigned to either a self-control, behavioral problem-solving, or waiting list condition. The self-control treatment focused on teaching children self-management skills. The behavioral problem-solving therapy consisted of education, self-monitoring of pleasant events, and group problem solving directed toward improving social behavior. Subjects were assessed pre- and posttreatment and at 8-week follow-up with multiple assessment procedures and from multiple perspectives. At posttreatment, subjects in both active treatments reported significant improvement on self-report and interview measures of depression while subjects in the waiting list condition reported minimal change. Results were maintained at follow-up. The general success of the experimental treatments was discussed and recommendations for further treatment components were provided.
Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 15(1) : 91-113
- Year: 1987
- Problem: Depressive Disorders
- Type: Randomised controlled trials
-
Stage: At risk (indicated or selected prevention)
-
Treatment and intervention: Psychological Interventions (any)
, Problem solving therapy (PST)
, Other Psychological Interventions
Puig-Antich, Joaquim, Perel, James M., Lupatkin, William, Chambers, William J., et al.,
Two research designs were combined and applied concurrently, using a total of 53 prepubertal children with major depressive disorder: (1) a 5-wk, double-blind, placebo-controlled imipramine (mean dose 136.8 mg/kg/day) trial and (2) a study of the relationship between maintenance plasma levels of imipramine and desipramine and clinical response at 5 wks in Ss randomly assigned to the drug. Results do not support the effectiveness of the drug in this disorder. Based on findings from the 2nd protocol, it is suggested that prepubertal major depressive children are more likely to respond the higher their plasma concentration of imipramine and desipramine and the lower the severity of their depressive symptomatology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2007 APA, all rights reserved).
Archives of General Psychiatry, 44(1) : 81-89
- Year: 1987
- Problem: Depressive Disorders
- Type: Randomised controlled trials
-
Stage: Disorder established (diagnosed disorder)
-
Treatment and intervention: Biological Interventions (any)
, Tricyclic antidepressants
Reynolds, W. M., Coats, K. I.
This investigation examined the efficacy of cognitive-behavioral therapy and relaxation training for
the treatment of depression in adolescents. Thirty moderately depressed adolescents were randomly
assigned to either cognitive-behavioral treatment, relaxation training, or a wait-list control condition.
Treatment subjects met in small groups for ten 50-min sessions over 5 weeks in a high school
setting. Outcome measures included self-report and clinical interviews for depression as well as
measures of self-esteem and anxiety. The cognitive-behavioral and relaxation training groups were
superior to the wait-list control group in the reduction of depressive symptoms at both posttest and
5-week follow-up assessments. There was no significant difference between active treatments in their
effectiveness for reducing adolescents' depression. Subjects in the cognitive-behavioral and relaxation
training conditions went from moderate levels of depression at pretest to nondepressed levels
at posttest, and they maintained these levels at follow-up. Improvements in anxiety and academic
self-concept were also demonstrated by the active treatments. The findings demonstrate that these
short-term group-administered therapies are effective in significantly decreasing depression in adolescents.
Journal of Consulting & Clinical Psychology, 54(5) : 653-60
- Year: 1986
- Problem: Depressive Disorders
- Type: Randomised controlled trials
-
Stage: At risk (indicated or selected prevention)
-
Treatment and intervention: Complementary & Alternative Interventions (CAM)
, Psychological Interventions (any)
, Cognitive & behavioural therapies (CBT)
, Relaxation
McCann, I. L., Holmes, D. S.
Forty-three depressed women were randomly assigned to either (a) an aerobic exercise treatment condition in which they participated in strenuous exercise, (b) a placebo treatment condition in which they practiced relaxation exercises, or (c) a no-treatment condition. Aerobic capacity was assessed before and after the 10-week treatment period. Self-reported depression was assessed before, during, and after the treatment period. The results indicated that subjects in the aerobic exercise condition evidenced reliably greater improvements in aerobic capacity than did the subjects in either of the other conditions (p less than .002 in both cases) and that the subjects in the aerobic exercise condition evidenced reliably greater decreases in depression than did subjects in the placebo condition (p = .05) or subjects in the no-treatment condition (p = .001). These results provide the first controlled evidence concerning the effects of strenuous exercise on depression.
Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 46(5) : 1142-7
- Year: 1984
- Problem: Depressive Disorders
- Type: Randomised controlled trials
-
Stage: At risk (indicated or selected prevention)
-
Treatment and intervention: Complementary & Alternative Interventions (CAM)
, Physical activity, exercise
Kashani, Javad H., Shekim, Walid O., Reid, John C.
Studied the effects of amitriptyline (AMT) vs placebo in 9 9-12 yr old psychiatric inpatients diagnosed as having major depressive disorder using DSM-III and Bellevue Index of Depression (BID) criteria. Ss were randomly assigned to AMT (1-2.5 mg/kg/day) or placebo groups for 4 wks; for the next 4 wks the treatments were reversed. Laboratory tests, the DSM-III, and the BID were completed at baseline and during each of the AMT and placebo periods. Overall clinical evaluation revealed a favorable response to AMT in 6 Ss, in whom dysphoric mood either disappeared or was greatly improved. In these Ss, there was also a substantial increase in their overall level of interest. In 1 S, there was no response to either AMT or placebo; 2 Ss responded to placebo only. It is concluded that AMT may have a useful place in the treatment of childhood depression. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2007 APA, all rights reserved).
Journal of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry, 23(3) : 348-351
- Year: 1984
- Problem: Depressive Disorders
- Type: Randomised controlled trials
-
Stage: Disorder established (diagnosed disorder)
-
Treatment and intervention: Biological Interventions (any)
, Tricyclic antidepressants
Petti, T. A.,
Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology, 2(2) : 107-10
- Year: 1982
- Problem: Depressive Disorders
- Type: Randomised controlled trials
-
Stage: Disorder established (diagnosed disorder)
-
Treatment and intervention: Biological Interventions (any)
, Tricyclic antidepressants
Kramer, A.D., Feiguine, R.J.
To determine the effects of antidepressant medication on adolescent depression, we compared the efficacy of amitriptyline (200 mg daily) with placebo in a double-blind experimental design. Diagnosis of adolescent depression (n = 20) was achieved using the psychiatric interview, psychiatric rating scales, and psychometric instruments. No significant differences were reported between the amitriptyline and placebo groups on the Psychiatric Rating Scale or the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory. There were differences between groups at week 6 on the Depression Adjective Check List. Within group significance occurred from onset of treatment to conclusion on all instruments. The results suggest that prescription of amitriptyline for treatment of adolescent depression may be no more efficacious than the use of placebo.
Journal of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry, 20 : 636-44
- Year: 1981
- Problem: Depressive Disorders
- Type: Randomised controlled trials
-
Stage: Disorder established (diagnosed disorder)
-
Treatment and intervention: Biological Interventions (any)
, Tricyclic antidepressants
Hodgson, J. W.
Treated matched groups of 38 depressed undergraduates by behavioralnterpersonal (B) and cognitive treatments, each under 2 conditions. Both kinds of treatment proved more effective than no treatment, with some evidence of superiority of the B approach. The group treated by the B method under intensive conditions made the greatest absolute gains on self-report measures of depression (e.g., Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale) and also became the most interpersonally skillful.
Journal of Counseling Psychology, 28(3) : 243-9
- Year: 1981
- Problem: Depressive Disorders
- Type: Randomised controlled trials
-
Stage: At risk (indicated or selected prevention)
-
Treatment and intervention: Psychological Interventions (any)
, Cognitive & behavioural therapies (CBT)
, Skills training
Butler, Lenora, Mietzitis, Solveiga, Friedman, Ronald, Cole, Ester
Assigned 56 5th- and 6th-grade children, manifesting depressive symptoms as judged by teachers and in response to a self-report depression battery (Self-Esteem Scale, Children's Depression Inventory, Moyal-Miezitis Stimulus Appraisal Questionnaire, Nowicki-Strickland Children's Locus of Control Scale), to one of the following 10-wk intervention conditions: role play (treatment), cognitive restructuring (treatment), attention placebo, or control. Both quantitative and qualitative improvements were observed for several Ss in the role play and cognitive restructuring treatments, though the gain was more dramatic in role play. (9 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2007 APA, all rights reserved).
American Educational Research Journal, 17(1) : 111-119
- Year: 1980
- Problem: Depressive Disorders
- Type: Randomised controlled trials
-
Stage: At risk (indicated or selected prevention)
-
Treatment and intervention: Psychological Interventions (any)
, Other Psychological Interventions