Targeted programs reduced depression in youth better than nontargted programs
From EurekAlert! - Breaking News:
Depression among youth is a growing public health concern, affecting one to two percent of elementary school-aged children and three to eight percent of adolescents.
To determine what programs are effective in preventing depressive symptoms, researchers from Vanderbilt University conducted a meta-analysis of the last 20 years of research on interventions aimed at preventing depressive symptoms in youth.
The results of the study appearing in the June issue of the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, published by the American Psychological Association (APA), showed that targeted interventions for those at risk for depression have greater effect sizes than universal interventions.
According to the findings of the meta-analysis, both selective and indicated prevention programs had greater effect sizes than universal programs in alleviating depressive symptoms at post-intervention and at a six-month follow up.
Moreover, universal programs, which often are conducted in schools in large group formats, do a good job at avoiding the stigma of singling out individuals for intervention, do not require prescreening, and have a relatively low dropout rate.
In contrast, Horowitz and Garber showed that selective programs, which target individuals who are more at risk for depression because of exposure to such factors as parental divorce, deaths, parental depression or alcoholism, or poverty, produced a significantly larger effect size in reducing depressive symptoms compared to universal programs.
Selective programs usually involve a more diverse sample, are more varied in their delivery of information, and target other outcomes besides depression (e.g. academic improvement, parent-child relationship).
Like selective programs, indicated programs typically use small group format, teach cognitive techniques that emphasize reducing negative thinking, increase problem-solving skills and goal setting, and show participants how to look at events from another perspective.
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