Table 2.
Descriptions of the Sample, Intervention Content, and Findings from Depression Prevention Trials
| Study | Sample | Intervention | Findings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barrett et al, 2006 | 669 girls and boys | Efficacy trial of a universal school-based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) intervention designed to prevent child anxiety by teaching coping and problem-solving skills. | No significant effects for depressive symptoms (CDI) compared to an assessment-only control group. |
| Beardslee et al, 2003 | 121 girls and boys | Efficacy trial of selective psychoeducational intervention targeting children of depressed parents that presented information on mood disorders, risk, and resilience, and how to facilitate relationships. | No significant effects for depressive symptoms (SADS-L) at 1,2, and 4.5 year follow-ups compared to attention control group. |
| Bearman et al., 2003 | 74 girls | Efficacy trial of selective CBT intervention targeting adolescent girls with elevated body dissatisfaction. | Significant effects for depressive symptoms (BDI) at posttest, but not 6-month follow-up, compared to a waitlist control group. |
| Burton et al, 2007 | 145 young women | Efficacy trial of selective CBT intervention targeting women with elevated depressive symptoms. | Significant effects for depressive symptoms (BDI) at posttest, 3, and 6-month follow-ups compared to control group. |
| Cardemil et al, 2006 | 168 girls and boys | Two-year follow-up of efficacy trial of a universal school-based CBT intervention that taught cognitive and social problem-solving skills. | Significant effects for depressive symptoms (CDI) compared to an assessment-only control group. |
| Chaplin et al, 2006 | 208 girls and boys | Efficacy trial of a girls-only and co-ed version of a universal CBT and social and problem solving intervention. | Significant effects for depressive symptoms (CDI) compared to an assessment-only control group for both girls-only or co-ed groups. |
| Clarke et al, 1995 | 125 girls and boys | Efficacy trial of selective school-based cognitive intervention targeting children with elevated depressive symptoms that taught cognitive techniques to identify and challenge negative or irrational thoughts. | Significant effects for depressive symptoms (CES-D) at posttest compared to an assessment-only control group. Significantly reduced risk for depression onset for CBT versus controls though 18-month follow-up. |
| Clarke et al, 2001 | 94 girls and boys | Efficacy trial of a shortened version of a selective cognitive treatment program targeting adolescents with a depressed parent where participants were taught cognitive restructuring techniques. | Significant effects for depressive symptoms (CES-D) at posttest and 1-year follow-up compared to assessment-only controls. Significantly reduced risk for depression onset for CBT versus controls though 1-year follow-up. |
| Clarke et al, 1993 (Study 1) | 513 girls and boys | Efficacy trial of universal school-based psychoeducational intervention that provided information on the symptoms, causes, and treatments for depression. | No significant effects for depressive symptoms (CES-D) compared to an assessment-only control group. |
| Clarke et al, 1993 (Study 2) | 300 girls and boys | Efficacy trial of universal school-based behavioral skills training intervention that encouraged participants to engage in pleasant activities. | No significant effects for depressive symptoms (CES-D) compared to an assessment-only control group. |
| Forsyth, 2000 | 59 college women (97%) and men | Efficacy trial of a selective interpersonal therapy based program targeting college undergraduates with both elevated depressive symptoms and at least one other risk factor for depression (e.g., negative life events or low social support). The intervention emphasized role transitions, interpersonal disputes, problem solving and social skills. | Significant effects for depressive symptoms (BDI) at posttest and 3-month follow-up compared to a waitlist control group. |
| Garber et al., 2008 | 316 girls and boys | Efficacy trial of CB program for preventing depression in at-risk adolescents across 4 sites (replication of Clarke et al., 2001). | Significantly reduced risk for onset of depression in CB group compared with assessment-only control group through 8-month follow-up. |
| Gillham, 1994 | 108 girls and boys | Efficacy trial comparing a child-only to a child and parent condition of a selective school-based CBT intervention. | Significant effects for depressive symptoms (CDI) for child-only version at post-test, but not 6 month follow-up compared to an assessment-only control group; no effects for child-parent version compared to assessment only control group. |
| Gillham & Reivich, 1999 | 118 girls and boys | 2.5 and 3-year follow-ups of a selective intervention (Gillham et al., 1995) that taught cognitive and social-problem solving skills to children at risk for depression. | No significant effects for depressive symptoms (CDI) at 2.5 or 3-year follow-ups compared to assessment-only control group. |
| Gillham et al, 2006a | 271 girls and boys | Effectiveness trial of selective school-based CBT intervention that focused on problem-solving and social skills training, delivered by therapists in a primary care setting. | No significant effects for depressive symptoms (CDI) at posttest, 6, 1-year, 18-month, or 2-year follow-ups compared to assessment-only control group. |
| Gillham et al, 2006b | 40 girls and boys | Pilot study examining selective efficacy of school-based CBT intervention that includes problem-solving and social skills training when combined with a parent component. | Significant effects for depressive symptoms (CDI) at 6-month and 1-year follow-ups, but not at posttest, compared to assessment-only control group. |
| Gillham et al, 2007 | 697 girls and boys | Efficacy trial of selective school-based CBT intervention that includes problem-solving and social skills training. | No significant effects for depressive symptoms (CDI) at posttest, 6-month, 1-year, 18-month, 2-year, 2.5, or 3-year follow-ups compared to assessment-only control group. |
| Gwynn & Brantley, 1987 | 60 girls and boys | Study investigating the effects of an selective educational support group targeting children of divorce on depressive symptoms. | Significant effects for depressive symptoms (CDI) at posttest compared to a assessment-only control group. |
| Hains & Ellman, 1994 | 21 girls and boys | Efficacy trial of a universal stress inoculation training intervention that included cognitive coping skills and relaxation skills to reduce the incidence of negative emotional arousal. | No significant effects for depressive symptoms (RADS) at posttest compared to assessment-only control group. |
| Horowitz et al, 2007 | 380 girls and boys | Efficacy trial of a universal school-based CBT intervention and a school-based interpersonal therapy intervention. | Significant effects for depressive symptoms (CES-D) for both interventions compared with an assessment-only control group at posttest; no effects at 6-month follow-up. |
| Johnson, 2000 | 100 girls and boys | One-year follow-up to an efficacy trial of a universal intervention based on a social/interpersonal and cognitive behavioral model. | No significant effects for depressive symptoms (RCDS) compared to assessment-only control group. |
| Kellam, et al., 1994 | 685 girls and boys | Universal intervention that compared an enriched curriculum aimed at improving reading achievement to a classroom behavior management strategy designed to reduce aggressive behavior. | No significant effects for depressive symptoms (CDI) at posttest compared to an assessment-only control group. |
| Lamb, et al, 1998 | 222 girls and boys | Efficacy trial of selective coping and problem solving skills intervention. | No significant effects for depressive symptoms (RADS) at posttest compared to assessment-only control group. |
| Lowry-Webster et al, 2003 | 584 girls and boys | One-year follow-up of universal effectiveness trial of a CBT based intervention (Lowry-Webster et al., 2001). | No significant effects for depressive symptoms (CDI) at 1-year follow-up compared to an assessment-only control group. |
| Merry et al, 2004 | 392 girls and boys | Effectiveness trial of a universal school-based CBT and interpersonal therapy intervention delivered by teachers. | Significant effects for depressive symptoms (RADS) at posttest, but not at 18-month follow-up compared to attention control group. |
| Miller, 1999 | 56 boys and girls | Selective efficacy trial of CBT intervention targeted to kids at a juvenile detention camp. | No significant effects for depressive symptoms (CDI) at posttest compared to assessment-only control group. |
| Pattison & Lynd-Stevenson, 2001 | 66 girls and boys | Effectiveness trial comparing universal school-based CBT-based intervention to an active control group that switched the order of topics, both delivered by community mental health providers. | No significant effects for depressive symptoms (CDI) at posttest or 6-month follow-up compared to active control and assessment-only control groups. |
| Peden et al, 2001 | 92 college women | Efficacy trial of a selective CBT-based intervention targeting women with elevated depressive symptoms that focused on the identification and reduction of negative thinking. | Significant effects for depressive symptoms (CDI) at posttest and 6-month follow-up, but not at 18-month follow-up, compared to assessment-only control group. |
| Peterson et al, 1997 | 237 girls and boys | Efficacy trial of a universal school-based psychoeducational intervention that teaches adolescents adaptive emotional cognitive, and behavioral responses to stressors or challenges. | Significant effects for depressive symptoms (DISC) at posttest compared to assessment-only control group. |
| Possel et al, 2004 | 324 girls and boys | Efficacy trial of a universal school-based CBT intervention focused on cognitive and social factors. | No significant effects for depressive symptoms (CES-D) at posttest, 3, or 6-month follow-up compared to assessment-only control group. |
| Quayle et al, 2001 | 47 girls | Efficacy trial of a universal school-based CBT intervention. | Significant effects for depressive symptoms (CDI) at 6-month follow-up, but not at posttest, compared to assessment-only control group. |
| Roberts et al, 2003 | 189 girls and boys | Effectiveness trial of selective school-based version of a CBT intervention delivered by school staff. | No effects for depressive symptoms (CDI) at posttest or 6-month follow-up compared to assessment-only control group. |
| Roosa, et al., 1989 | 81 girls and boys | Efficacy trial of a selective intervention that consisted of a school-based curriculum which taught information on alcoholism, self-esteem enhancement, and coping strategies to children from alcoholic families. | No significant effects for depressive symptoms (CDI) at posttest compared to assessment-only control group. |
| Sandler et al., 1992 | 72 girls and boys | Efficacy trial of selective intervention targeting children who experienced the death of a parent that consists of a family grief workshop and a family advisor program. | No significant effects for depressive symptoms (CDI) at posttest compared to a waitlist control group. |
| Sawyer, et al., under review | 5634 girls and boys | Effectiveness trial of a universal school-based intervention that sought to improve problem solving and social skills, resilient thinking style and coping strategies. | No significant effects for depressive symptoms (CES-D) at posttest compared to assessment-only control group. |
| Seligman, et al, 1999 | 231 college women and men | Efficacy trial of a selective CBT program targeting college students with negative attributional style. | Significant effects for depressive symptoms (BDI) at 1, 2, and 3-year follow-ups compared to an assessment-only control group. |
| Seligman et al., 2007 | 240 college women and men | Efficacy trial of a selective CBT program with ongoing web-based materials and email coaching. | No significant effects for depressive symptoms (BDI) or episodes (SCID) at posttest or 6-month follow-up compared to an assessment-only control group. |
| Shatte & Seligman, 1997 | 152 girls and boys | Efficacy trial comparing a selective school-based CBT-based intervention. | Significant effects for depressive symptoms compared to waitlist control group at 8-month, but not 1-year follow-up or compared to active control group at either 8-month or 1-year follow-ups. |
| Sheffield et al, 2006 | 1226 girls and boys | Effectiveness trial of CBT intervention in both universal and selective sub-samples. | No effects for depressive symptoms (CES-D, CDI) at posttest, 3-month or 1-year follow-up compared to assessment-only control group for either universal or selective sub-samples. |
| Shochet et al, 2001 | 228 girls and boys | Efficacy trial of a universal school-based CBT intervention with a focus on interpersonal and family risk and protective factors, compared to a parent version of this intervention. | Significant effects for depressive symptoms (CDI) for both versions of the intervention compared to assessment-only control group at posttest, and significant effects for the child-only version at 1-year follow-up compared to the assessment-only control group. |
| Spence et al, 2005 | 751 girls and boys | Two, three, and four-year follow-ups to Spence et al (2003) universal effectiveness trial of an intervention focused on cognitive restructuring and problem-solving skills. | No significant effects for depressive symptoms (BDI) at 2 or 3-year follow-ups (note: this meta-analysis limited analysis of follow-up effects to 3 years) compared to assessment-only control group. |
| Stice et al, 2006 | 225 young women and men | Efficacy trial comparing selective CBT program to active control groups and waitlist control condition. | Significant effects for depressive symptoms (BDI) for CBT compared with waitlist control group at posttest and 3-month follow-up. |
| Stice, Rohde, & Seeley, 2008 | 192 girls and boys | Efficacy trial comparing brief selective CBT program to active control and assessment-only control groups. | Significant effects for depressive symptoms (K-SADS) for CBT compared to assessment-only control group at posttest and 6-month follow-up. Significantly reduced risk for depression onset for CBT versus controls through 6-month follow-up. |
| Stoppelbein 2003 | 59 girls and boys | Universal efficacy trial of school-based CBT intervention. | No significant effects for depressive symptoms (CDI) at posttest, 3 or 6-month follow-ups compared to assessment-only control group. |
| Young, Mufson, & Davies, 2006 | 41 girls and boys | Efficacy trial of selective interpersonal psychotherapy skills training intervention. | Significant effects for depressive symptoms (CES-D) at posttest, 3-month, and 6-month follow-ups compared to attention control group. Marginally significant reduced risk for depression onset for CBT versus controls though 6-month follow-up. |
| Yu & Seligman, 2002 | 110 Chinese girls and boys | Efficacy trial of selective school-based CBT-based intervention targeting Chinese adolescents with elevated depressive symptoms. | Significant effects for depressive symptoms (CDI) at posttest compared to assessment-only control group. |
Note: Measures of depression used: CDI= Child Depression Inventory; RCDS=Reynolds Child Depression Scale; CES-D=Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale; RADS=Reynolds Adolescent Depression Scale; DISC=Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children; BDI=Beck Depression Inventory.