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A randomized controlled trial of the impact of a Family-Based adolescent depression intervention on both youth and parent mental health outcomes
Journal article   Peer reviewed

A randomized controlled trial of the impact of a Family-Based adolescent depression intervention on both youth and parent mental health outcomes

L.A. Poole, T. Knight, J.W. Toumbourou, D.I. Lubman, M.D. Bertino and A.J. Lewis
Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, Vol.46(1), pp.169-181
2018
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Abstract

This paper presents findings from a multi-centre, double-blind, randomized controlled trial that tested the hypothesis that parent and youth mental health improvements would be superior in a family-based intervention for adolescent depression (BEST MOOD) compared to a treatment-as-usual supportive parenting program (PAST). Eligible participants were families with a young person aged between 12 and 18 years who met diagnostic criteria for a depressive disorder (major, minor or dysthymic). Participating families (N = 64; 73.4% of youth were female) were recruited in Victoria, Australia and allocated to treatment condition using a block randomization procedure (parallel design) with two levels of blinding. This paper reports on the trial’s secondary outcomes on youth and parent mental health. General linear mixed models were used to examine the longitudinal effect of treatment group on outcome. Data were analyzed according to intention-to-treat; 31 families were analyzed in BEST MOOD, and 33 families in PAST. Parents in the BEST MOOD group experienced significantly greater reductions in stress and depressive symptoms than parents in the PAST group at 3-month follow-up. A greater reduction in parental anxiety was observed in the BEST MOOD group (d = 0.35) compared with PAST (d = 0.02), although the between-group difference was not significant. Both groups of youth showed similar levels of improvement in depressive symptoms at post-treatment (d = 0.83 and 0.80 respectively), which were largely sustained at a 3-month follow-up. The family-based BEST MOOD intervention appeared superior to treatment-as-usual (PAST) in demonstrating greater reductions in parental stress and depression. Both interventions produced large reductions in youth depressive symptoms.

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Collaboration types
Domestic collaboration
Citation topics
6 Social Sciences
6.24 Psychiatry & Psychology
6.24.15 Parenting and Child Development
Web Of Science research areas
Psychology, Clinical
Psychology, Developmental
ESI research areas
Psychiatry/Psychology
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