Effectiveness of an intervention program to prevent depression in elementary school class groups

Abstract

In Western countries, various programs to prevent depression in children and adolescents, developed mainly using psychological theory and techniques, have been implemented with great effectiveness. However, in Japan, few such preventive programs have been developed, despite the fact that in recent years, more children are depressed. The purpose of the present study was to examine the effectiveness of an intervention program to prevent depression in elementary school class groups. This universal prevention program aimed to modify cognitive, emotional, and behavioral distortions that lead to depression. The program was administered to 31 fifth-grade children; 75 fifth-grade children were the control group. Depression was measured using a self-report measure, the Depression Self-Rating Scale for Children. In addition, peer ratings were employed to measure depression, causal attribution, assertiveness, and control-lability of anger and depressive moods. The results showed significant effectiveness after a 2-month follow-up period for all the program components, except for cognitive modifications. Some difficulties concerning how this program could be integrated into the daily school curriculum were discussed.