Understanding Adolescent Expressions of Sadness: A Qualitative Exploration.

PURPOSE: Primary care providers are positioned to identify adolescents at risk for depression and prevent major depressive disorder. To identify subthreshold depression, we examined the language adolescents use to describe their symptoms. METHODS: Adolescents ages 13-18 with elevated levels on the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES-D) scale and/or a history of depression who were part of a large randomized clinical trial to prevent depressive disorder were included. We used content analysis to analyze transcripts of semi-structured interviews. RESULTS: Saturation was reached at 37 interviews. Adolescents self-identified as African American (N = 15), Hispanic (N = 10), and White (N = 21). Three domains were revealed; external sources of stress, adolescent expressions of sadness, and seeking help and care. Within these domains, 12 distinct themes emerged contextualizing these domains. No variations in the expression of the themes identified for subthreshold depression were found between the three ethno-cultural groups. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Our study identifies, in adolescents' own words, how adolescents with subthreshold depression express feelings and cope with symptoms, and may guide primary care providers to recognize subthreshold depression early. These findings are a step toward filling the gap in the empirical literature needed to improve identification of adolescents at risk for depression in nonspecialist settings.

24-Month Outcomes of Primary Care Web-Based Depression Prevention Intervention in Adolescents: Randomized Clinical Trial.

BACKGROUND: Adolescent depression carries a high burden of disease worldwide, but access to care for this population is limited. Prevention is one solution to curtail the negative consequences of adolescent depression. Internet interventions to prevent adolescent depression can overcome barriers to access, but few studies examine long-term outcomes. OBJECTIVE: This study compares CATCH-IT (Competent Adulthood Transition with Cognitive Behavioral Humanistic and Interpersonal Training), an internet-based intervention, to a general health education active control for depression onset at 12 and 24 months in adolescents presenting to primary care settings. METHODS: A 2-site randomized trial, blinded to the principal investigators and assessors, was conducted comparing Competent Adulthood Transition with Cognitive Behavioral Humanistic and Interpersonal Training to health education to prevent depressive episodes in 369 adolescents (193 youths were randomly assigned to Competent Adulthood Transition with Cognitive Behavioral Humanistic and Interpersonal Training and 176 to health education) with subthreshold depressive symptoms or prior depressive episodes. Participants were recruited from primary care settings in the United States. The primary outcome was the occurrence of a depressive episode, determined by the Depression Symptom Rating. The secondary outcome was functioning, measured by the Global Assessment Scale. RESULTS: In intention-to-treat analyses, the adjusted hazard ratio favoring Competent Adulthood Transition with Cognitive Behavioral Humanistic and Interpersonal Training for first depressive episode was not statistically significant at 12 months (hazard ratio 0.77, 95% CI 0.42-1.40, P=.39) and 24 months (hazard ratio 0.87, 95% CI 0.52-1.47, P=.61). Competent Adulthood Transition with Cognitive Behavioral Humanistic and Interpersonal Training provided preventive benefit for first depressive episode for those with mild hopelessness or at least moderate paternal monitoring at baseline. Global Assessment Scale scores improved comparably in both groups (intention-to-treat). CONCLUSIONS: A technology-based intervention for adolescent depression prevention implemented in primary care did not have additional benefit at 12 or 24 months. Further research is necessary to determine whether internet interventions have long-term benefit. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01893749; http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01893749.

Effect of Internet-based Cognitive Behavioral Humanistic and Interpersonal Training vs. Internet-based General Health Education on Adolescent Depression in Primary Care: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

IMPORTANCE: Although 13-20% of American adolescents experience a depressive episode annually, no scalable primary care model for adolescent depression prevention is currently available. OBJECTIVE: To study whether CATCH-IT (Competent Adulthood Transition with Cognitive Behavioral Humanistic and Interpersonal Training) reduces the hazard for depression in at-risk adolescents identified in primary care, as compared to a general health education attention control (HE). DESIGN: The Promoting AdolescenT Health (PATH) study compares CATCH-IT and HE in a phase 3 single-blind multicenter randomized attention control trial. Participants were enrolled from 2012 to 2016 and assessed at 2, 6, 12, 18, and 24 months post-randomization. SETTING: Primary care. PARTICIPANTS: Eligible adolescents were 13-18 years with subsyndromal depression and/or history of depression and no current depression diagnosis or treatment. Of 2,250 adolescents screened for eligibility, 446 participants completed the baseline interview and 369 were randomized into CATCH-IT (n=193) and HE (n=176). INTERVENTIONS: CATCH-IT is a 20-module (15 adolescent modules, 5 parent modules) online psychoeducation course that includes a parent program, supported by three motivational interviews. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Time-to-event for depressive episode; depressive symptoms at 6 months. RESULTS: Mean age was 15.4 years, and 68% were female; 28% had both a past episode and subsyndromal depression; 12% had a past episode only, 59% had subsyndromal depression only, and 1% had borderline subsyndromal depression. The outcome of time-to-event favored CATCH-IT but was not significant with intention-to-treat analyses (N=369; unadjusted HR=0.59; 95% CI 0.27, 1.29; p=0.18; adjusted HR=0.53; 95% CI 0.23, 1.23, p=0.14). Adolescents with higher baseline CES-D10 scores showed a significantly stronger effect of CATCH-IT on time-to-event relative to those with lower baseline scores (p=0.04). For example, for a CES-D10 score of 15 (significant sub-syndromal depression), HR=0.20 (95% CI 0.05, 0.77), compared to CES-D10 of 5 (no sub-syndromal depression), HR=1.44 (95% CI, 0.41, 5.03). In both CATCH-IT and HE groups, depression symptoms declined and functional scores increased. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: CATCH-IT may be better than HE for preventing depressive episodes for at-risk adolescents with sub-syndromal depression. CATCH-IT may be a scalable approach to prevent depressive episodes in adolescents in primary care.