COGNITIVE-BEHAVIORAL TREATMENT FOR DEPRESSED ADOLESCENTS

The purpose of this study was to test the efficacy of two versions of a cognitive-behavioral intervention for depressed adolescents. Fifty-nine high school students, aged 14-18, meeting DSM-III and RDC criteria for a diagnosis of depression were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: Adolescent-and-Parent, Adolescent-Only, and Wait-List. The treatments were: a) an adaptation of the Coping with Depression Course (CWD), a cognitive-behavioral group intervention teaching skills for increasing pleasant activities, relaxation, controlling depressive thoughts, improving social interaction, and communication, negotation and conflict resolution skills; and b) an intervention for the parents. The results showed that, compared to the wait-list subjects, treated subjects improved significantly on the depression measures. These gains were maintained at two years posttreatment. There was a strong trend for the results to favor the Adolescent-and-Parent condition over the Adolescent-Only condition, but only one of numerous comparisons attained statistical significance. © 1990 Association for Advancement of Behavior Therapy.