Effect of self-control training on depressive disorders in college students / 中国心理卫生杂志

ABSTRACT

Objectives:To design a self-control training program based on the recent findings of self-control and self-regulation after taking full consideration of the unique characteristics of depression disorder,with an emphasis on behavioral activation and reinforcement.Methods:Totally 46 students who were diagnosed with major depression were randomly assigned to one of the two groupsGroup 1 (n =23),and Group 2 (n =23).Participants in the Group 1 received 24-week self-control training program,as compared to Group 2 who received only baseline and post-24-week-intervention measurements,the measurements included Self-control Scale (SCS) and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-Ⅱ).The self-control training included eight-week training modules and 16-week consolidation module.Results:In Group 1,the SCS scores were higher in post-intervention than in baseline measurement [(38.0 ± 6.3) vs.(34.7 ± 8.2),P ＜ 0.01],and the BDI-Ⅱ scores were lower in post-intervention than in baseline measurement [(19.0 ± 6.1) vs.(21.8 ± 4.8),P＜0.01] in Group 1.Whereas in Group 2,there were no significant differences between baseline and post-24-week-intervention measurements of SCS and BDI-Ⅱ scores (Ps ＞0.05).Conclusion:The study provides new evidence for the self-regulation model of depression.Self-control training could be an effective intervention strategy for the treatment of depression.