Session: Increasing the Impact of Depression Prevention Interventions: Findings from IPT-AST Studies (Society for Prevention Research 22nd Annual Meeting)

Adolescent depression is a highly prevalent condition that is associated with impairment in multiple domains (Fergusson & Woodward, 2002). This has led to an interest in developing programs aimed at preventing and treating depression in youth, particularly interventions that can be delivered in school settings where children and adolescents are most likely to receive services. Schools provide an optimal venue for prevention programs, due to the ease with which youth most appropriate for the intervention can be identified, the ability to provide the intervention on site, and the relative lack of stigma associated with school-based interventions (President’s New Freedom Commission on Mental Health, 2003). Preventive interventions can reach a larger portion of the population and, if efficacious, can prevent the onset of depressive episodes.  Interpersonal Psychotherapy-Adolescent Skills Training (IPT-AST) is a promising school-based depression prevention program, with evidence of efficacy in two randomized controlled trials. IPT-AST teaches adolescents communication skills and interpersonal problem-solving to decrease interpersonal conflict and increase interpersonal support, which are posited to contribute to depression. The goal of this symposium is to present data from various IPT-AST studies that are designed to increase the reach and impact of this promising intervention.

The first paper, “Examining the Efficacy of Interpersonal Psychotherapy-Adolescent Skills Training (IPT-AST) through Systematic Pragmatic Case Studies” synthesizes quantitative findings from Young et al. (2010) with information uncovered from two systematic individual pragmatic case studies to better understand factors that impact intervention efficacy.

The second paper, “The Depression Prevention Initiative: Preliminary Outcomes from a School-Based Randomized Controlled Trial Comparing IPT-AST and Group Counseling” presents screening and post-intervention data from the largest study of IPT-AST conducted to date.

The final paper, “Training School Counselors in a School-Based Depression Prevention Program: Understanding Implementation Commitment and Clinical Utility” presents findings from an IPT-AST training that was administered to school counselors. The paper will present research on the feasibility and acceptability of this training, as well as factors related to training satisfaction and implementation commitment.

At the conclusion of the presentations, the discussant will make some summary statements and moderate a discussion between the presenters and the symposium attendees.