Development of a transdiagnostic, resilience-focused intervention for at-risk adolescents

Abstract

Background: Environmental adversity and subclinical symptoms of psychopathology in adolescents increase their risk for developing a future psychiatric disorder, yet interventions that may prevent poor outcomes in these vulnerable adolescents are not widely available. Aims: To develop and test the feasibility and acceptability of a prevention-focused program to enhance resilience in high-risk adolescents. Method: Adolescents with subclinical psychopathology living in a predominantly low-income, Latinx immigrant community were identified during pediatrician visits. A group-based intervention focused on teaching emotion recognition and regulation skills was piloted in three cohorts of adolescents (n = 11, 10, and 7, respectively), using a single arm design. The second and third iterations included sessions with parents. Results: Eighty-eight percent of participants completed the program, which was rated as beneficial. Also, from baseline to end of treatment, there was a significant decrease in subclinical symptoms and a significant increase in the adolescents’ positive social attribution bias (all p < 0.05). Conclusions: A resilience-focused intervention administered to high-risk adolescents was found to be feasible and acceptable to participants. Future work is needed to determine whether such a program can reduce the incidence of negative outcomes, such as the development of psychiatric disorders and related disability, in this population.