Effects of a psycho-educational program for preventing depression in junior high and high school students

Abstract

The present study evaluated effects of a psycho-educational program for prevention of depression in junior high school and high school students. The program, which was based on cognitive behavior therapy, consisted of four 50-minute sessions. The main components of the program were psycho-education, understanding the relevance of feelings and thoughts, cognitive restructuring, and prevention of rumination. Participants, junior high and high school students, were divided into experimental groups who received the program, and control groups who did not. When the junior high school students' pre-treatment scores were compared to their post-treatment scores, the degree of depression of the treatment group was significantly reduced compared to the control group. The post-treatment reduction in depression in the junior high treatment group was maintained at 3- and 6-month followups. In addition, the degree of depression of the high school treatment group students tended to be reduced in comparison to the data from the high school control group. The results from a qualitative analysis indicated that the students in the treatment group gained a sense of efficacy for preventing their own or others' depression. These results suggest that this program may have some effect for the prevention of depression in young people.