Table 2.
Unadjusted Knowledge about Depression Treatment: Percent Correct for Specific Questions and Aggregate Scores (N = 160)*
| Knowledge Measure | Baseline | Follow-up |
|---|---|---|
| Specific item† | ||
| To what extent do you believe each of the following statements is true or false? On the line next to each statement, circle one number (from 1 to 5) for the answer that is closest to your own. | ||
| 1. The maintenance phase of treatment for major depression focuses on preventing recurrence. | 90.0 | 92.7 |
| 2. If psychotherapy for major depression has no effect within 6 weeks of regular sessions, medication is recommended. | 63.3 | 77.3* |
| 3. An appropriate trial of antidepressant medication for major depressive disorder requires use of therapeutic dosages daily for at least 4 to 6 weeks. | 91.5 | 92.8 |
| 4. Medication and psychotherapy are efficacious for depression in elderly adults as well as for the non-elderly. | 85.8 | 89.7 |
| 5. Evidence suggests that primary care clinicians prescribe appropriate dosages of antidepressants to fewer than a third of patients with a current major depressive disorder. | 70.3 | 69.7 |
| 6. Most tricyclic antidepressants have equivalent efficacy as SSRIs for depressed patients. | 55.3 | 60.0 |
| 7. Dysthymic disorder is mild, brief depression. | 60.0 | 62.5 |
| 8. The goal of cognitive therapy is to remove symptoms of depression by identifying and correcting patients' distorted, negatively biased thinking. | 68.6 | 79.7* |
| 9. In general, antidepressant medication should be discontinued after 4 to 9 months for patients with a single major depressive episode who no longer have symptoms of depression. | 71.4 | 77.9* |
| 10. Anxiolytics and sedatives (minor tranquilizers) have equivalent efficacy in major depression as antidepressant medications. | 89.6 | 94.8* |
| 11. Psychotherapy with a trained therapist is appropriate as the sole treatment formoderate major depression that is not chronic, psychotic, or melancholic. | 52.6 | 61.0* |
| 12. Tricyclic antidepressants and SSRIs have equivalent side-effect profiles. | 88.2 | 94.7* |
| Aggregate score‡ | ||
| Overall (all 12 items) | 73.3 | 78.6* |
| General (items 1, 4, & 7) | 77.6 | 80.9 |
| Antidepressants (items 3, 5, 6, 9, 10, & 12) | 77.1 | 81.1* |
| Psychotherapy (items 2, 8, & 11) | 60.5 | 71.3* |
*
P < .10 for pre- vs postdifference by t-test.
†
Rated on a 1 to 5 scale from “definitely true” to “definitely false” and rescored as percent of clinicians answering correctly (“definitely true” or “ mostly true”).
‡
Scored by first reversing all items except 7, 10, and 11 ( false statements), counting the number of items answered correctly, dividing the sum by the total number of items for percent correct, and multiplying by 100 for proportion correct.
SSRI indicates selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors.