We have designed and validated a school-based """"""""Coping Skills Program"""""""" which teaches cognitive skills and social problem-solving to groups of schoolchildren at-risk for depression. Pilot data with at-risk children (n = 142) and 6, 12, 18, and 24 month follow-up data show both relief and marked prevention of depression in 11-13 year old children. Moreover, the preventive effect has grown over time: after 2 years, the children in the prevention groups have two to three times less depression than the untreated children. Now we propose to test the effectiveness and generalizability of this program among children at-risk for depression in a 3 group design, using teachers as the intervention providers. Risk is defined as current, low to moderate depressive symptoms and by familial turmoil. Children will be randomly assigned to one of three groups. In one group (n = 216), the children will participate in the Coping Skills program. The second group (n = 216) is the Social and Personal Awareness group. This is a nonspecifics intervention, which controls for group cohesion, adult attention, expectations of benefit, and depression relevant focus which are non-specific to the cognitive intervention but may contribute to the program's effectiveness. The third group (n = 216) will be a no- intervention control group. We will follow the children for three years, targeting depressive disorder and depressive symptoms, as well as behavior problems as reported by children, parents, and teachers. Teachers will be recruited from the two school districts serving as sites for this study and will be trained as intervention providers. This program is reproducible and its pilot effects are large; if teachers are successful in implementing this program, it opens up the possibility that depression might be preventable on a sweeping scale by programs carried out by teachers in the public schools.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01MH052270-05
Application #
6185967
Study Section
Child/Adolescent Risk and Prevention Review Committee (CAPR)
Project Start
1996-05-01
Project End
2002-04-30
Budget Start
2000-06-01
Budget End
2002-04-30
Support Year
5
Fiscal Year
2000
Total Cost
$401,883
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Pennsylvania
Department
Psychology
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
042250712
City
Philadelphia
State
PA
Country
United States
Zip Code
19104
Brunwasser, Steven M; Freres, Derek R; Gillham, Jane E (2018) Youth Cognitive-Behavioral Depression Prevention: Testing Theory in a Randomized Controlled Trial. Cognit Ther Res 42:468-482
Siddique, Juned; de Chavez, Peter J; Howe, George et al. (2018) Limitations in Using Multiple Imputation to Harmonize Individual Participant Data for Meta-Analysis. Prev Sci 19:95-108
Brunwasser, Steven M; Gillham, Jane E (2018) Identifying Moderators of Response to the Penn Resiliency Program: A Synthesis Study. Prev Sci 19:38-48
Brown, C Hendricks; Brincks, Ahnalee; Huang, Shi et al. (2018) Two-Year Impact of Prevention Programs on Adolescent Depression: an Integrative Data Analysis Approach. Prev Sci 19:74-94
Brincks, Ahnalee; Montag, Samantha; Howe, George W et al. (2018) Addressing Methodologic Challenges and Minimizing Threats to Validity in Synthesizing Findings from Individual-Level Data Across Longitudinal Randomized Trials. Prev Sci 19:60-73
Vélez, Clorinda E; Krause, Elizabeth D; McKinnon, Allison et al. (2016) Social support seeking and early adolescent depression and anxiety symptoms: The moderating role of rumination. J Early Adolesc 36:1118-1143
Vélez, Clorinda E; Krause, Elizabeth D; Brunwasser, Steven M et al. (2014) Parent predictors of adolescents' explanatory style. J Early Adolesc 35:931-946
Cutuli, J J; Gillham, Jane E; Chaplin, Tara M et al. (2013) Preventing adolescents' externalizing and internalizing symptoms: Effects of the Penn Resiliency Program. Int J Emot Educ 5:67-79
Gillham, Jane E; Reivich, Karen J; Brunwasser, Steven M et al. (2012) Evaluation of a group cognitive-behavioral depression prevention program for young adolescents: a randomized effectiveness trial. J Clin Child Adolesc Psychol 41:621-39
Chaplin, Tara M; Gillham, Jane E; Seligman, Martin E P (2009) Gender, Anxiety, and Depressive Symptoms: A Longitudinal Study of Early Adolescents. J Early Adolesc 29:307-327

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