Interpersonal Psychotherapy-Adolescent Skills Training

OVERVIEW

Interpersonal Psychotherapy-Adolescent Skills Training (IPT-AST) is a prevention program for adolescent depression, targeted at adolescents with elevated depression symptoms. It teaches adolescents interpersonal and communication skills in a group format. In an experimental evaluation, IPT-AST adolescents reported significantly fewer depression symptoms at post-intervention and at the 6-month follow-up. At the 12- and 18-month follow-ups they were no longer different from adolescents in the control group.

DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAM

Target population: Adolescents with elevated depression symptoms (but not with diagnosis of depression).

IPT-AST is a group intervention program that develops interpersonal skills to address problematic relationships and promote positive ones, with a goal of reducing symptoms of depression. It involves two pre-group sessions and eight 90-minute group sessions, and takes place over the course of two years. During the pre-group session, the group leader assesses depressive symptoms and conducts an interpersonal inventory. During the group sessions, which take place after school, adolescents learn about the symptoms of depression and about different communication and interpersonal strategies. The program is administered by masters- or doctoral-level psychologists or child psychiatrists. Group sizes range from four to six adolescents.

EVALUATION OF PROGRAM

Young, J. F., Mufson, L., Gallop, F. (2010) Preventing depression: A randomized trial of Interpersonal Psychotherapy-Adolescent Skills Training. Depression and Anxiety, 27, 426-433.

Evaluated population: Fifty-seven adolescents  with elevated depression symptoms participated. Recruitment occurred at three single-sex high schools – two girls’ schools and one boys’ school – targeting 9^th and 10^th graders. Adolescents were eligible to participate if they had elevated depression symptoms, but did not have a current diagnosis of depression or other mental health disorder. Participants were on average 14.51 years old, 60 percent female, 74 percent Hispanic (most of the rest were Afican American), and 70 percent living in single-parent homes.

Approach: Adolescents were randomized to receive the IPT-AST (n = 36) or school counseling (n = 21), which was the control condition. Randomization occurred using a table of random numbers. Data were collected at baseline, post-intervention, and at 6-, 12-, and 18-month follow-ups. Outcomes measured were depression and overall functioning, most via adolescent self-report; one measure was clinician-rated. There were no baseline differences. Clustering of adolescents in the seven groups of IPT-AST was not adjusted for because of the small number of groups and adolescents.

Results: IPT-AST adolescents reported greater declines in depressive symptoms, and increases in overall functioning, compared with adolescents in the control group receiving school counseling from baseline to post-intervention. At post-intervention, IPT-AST adolescents reported significantly fewer depression symptoms and better overall functioning. Effect sizes of the rates of change across the different outcomes ranged from .68 to .86 during the treatment phase, with IPT-AST adolescents showing greater rates of improvement.

During the follow-up phase, however, rates of change in depression symptoms and overall functioning slowed for the IPT-AST adolescents, whereas the control adolescents continued to improve. By the 12-month follow-up, there were no significant mean differences in depression symptoms or overall functioning between IPT-AST and control adolescents. Effect sizes of the rates of change across the different outcomes ranged from .24 to .67 during the follow-up phase, with control adolescents showing greater rates of improvement.  

Limitations. Although 235 adolescents were eligible to participate, only 79 agreed to participate, and a second screening process decreased the sample to 57. As such, the evaluated population is a small subset of the target population. Furthermore, although attrition in the IPT-AST group was very low (36 students at baseline fell to 32 at the 18-month follow-up), attrition was high for the control group (21 students at baseline fell to 12 at the 18-month follow-up). It is possible that more depressed adolescents were more likely to attrite, thus leaving the control group with less depressed adolescents by the 12- and 18-month follow-ups.    

SOURCES FOR MORE INFORMATION

References

Young, J. F., Mufson, L., Gallop, F. (2010) Preventing depression: A randomized trial of Interpersonal Psychotherapy-Adolescent Skills Training. Depression and Anxiety, 27, 426-433.

KEYWORDS: Adolescents (12-17); High school; Males and Females (Co-ed); School-based; Skills training; Depression/Mood disorders; Mental Health other, Social/Emotional Health other

Program information last updated on 11/11/11.  

© Child Trends 2003