Young, J. F., Mufson, L., & Davies, M. (2006). Efficacy of Interpersonal Psychotherapy-Adolescent Skills Training: An indicated preventive intervention for depression. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 47(12), 1254–1262. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7610.2006.01667.x

Type of Study: Randomized controlled trial
Number of Participants: 41

Population:

• Age — 11–16 years
• Race/Ethnicity — 93% Hispanic
• Gender — 85% Female and 15% Male
• Status — Participants were youth in predominately single-parent low-income households with undiagnosed subthreshold depression symptoms.

Location/Institution: Three Catholic schools in New York City, NY

Summary: (To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
The purpose of the study was to examine the efficacy of Interpersonal Psychotherapy-Adolescent Skills Training (IPT-AST) for adolescents with depression in comparison to group programs that are typically delivered in school settings. Participants were randomly assigned to either IPT-AST or school counseling (SC). Measures utilized include the Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children-Present and Lifetime version (K-SADS-PL), the Children's Global Assessment Scale (CGAS), and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). Results indicate that adolescents who received IPT-AST had significantly fewer depression symptoms and better overall functioning postintervention and at follow-up. Adolescents in IPT-AST also reported fewer depression diagnoses than adolescents in usual care. Limitations include small sample size, less than half of the eligible adolescents agreed to participate in the eligibility evaluation, the unbalanced randomization resulted in a small number of adolescents in the SC group, and the majority of the sample was Hispanic and female.

Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: 6 months.

Young, J. F., Gallop, R., & Mufson, L. (2009). Mother-child conflict and its moderating effects on depression outcomes in a preventive intervention for adolescent depression. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 38(5), 696–704. https://doi.org/10.1080/15374410903103577

Type of Study: Randomized controlled trial
Number of Participants: 41

Population:

• Age — 11–16 years (Mean=13.37 years)
• Race/Ethnicity — 93% Hispanic
• Gender — 85% Female and 15% Male
• Status — Participants were youth from single-parent household with undiagnosed subthreshold depression symptoms.

Location/Institution: Three Catholic schools in New York City, NY

Summary: (To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
The study used the same sample as Young et al. (2006). The purpose of the study was to examine the efficacy of Interpersonal Psychotherapy-Adolescent Skills Training (IPT-AST) for adolescents with depression in comparison to group programs that are typically delivered in school settings. Participants were randomly assigned to receive IPT-AST or school counseling (SC). Measures utilized include the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), the Conflict Behavior Questionnaire (CBQ), the Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children-Present and Lifetime version (K-SADS-PL), and the Children's Global Assessment Scale (CGAS). Results indicate that adolescents in IPT–AST showed significantly greater reductions in mother–child conflict at postintervention and throughout the 12-month follow-up period. Baseline mother–child conflict moderated the programs’ effects on depression symptoms. Overall, although adolescents in both interventions improved substantially on the CES-D, the amount of improvement for IPT–AST was much larger. Results also indicated that baseline mother–child conflict moderated the effects of the intervention on adolescents’ depression symptoms. Among adolescents with greater conflict at baseline, IPT–AST was significantly more effective at reducing depression symptoms than SC. In fact, it was the adolescents with high baseline conflict who showed the biggest improvements in depression within the IPT–AST condition. Among those adolescents with low baseline conflict, the difference between the two interventions was not significant. Limitations include small sample size, unbalanced randomization that resulted in less students in the SC group, using only adolescent reports of mother-child conflict, and the majority of the sample was Hispanic and female.

Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: 3, 6, and 12 months.

Young, J. F., Mufson, L., & Gallop, R. (2010). Preventing depression: A randomized trial of Interpersonal Psychotherapy-Adolescent Skills Training. Depression and Anxiety, 27(5), 426–433. https://doi.org/10.1002/da.20664

Type of Study: Randomized controlled trial
Number of Participants: 57

Population:

• Age — 13–17 years
• Race/Ethnicity — 74% Hispanic and 26% African American
• Gender — 60% Female and 40% Male
• Status — Participants were youth from inner city, minority, single-parent homes with subthreshold depression symptoms without diagnosis.

Location/Institution: Three Catholic high schools in New York City, NY

Summary: (To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
The purpose of the study was to examine the efficacy of Interpersonal Psychotherapy-Adolescent Skills Training (IPT-AST) for adolescents with depression in comparison to group programs that are typically delivered in school settings. Participants were randomly assigned to receive IPT-AST or school counseling (SC). Measures utilized include the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), the Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children-Present and Lifetime version (K-SADS-PL), the Children's Global Assessment Scale (CGAS), and the Children's Depression Rating Scale, Revised (CDRS-R). Results indicate that adolescents in IPT-AST reported significantly greater rates of change in depression symptoms and overall functioning than SC adolescents from baseline to post-intervention. At post-intervention, IPT-AST adolescents reported significantly fewer depression symptoms and better overall functioning. During the follow-up phase, rates of change slowed for the IPT-AST adolescents, whereas the SC adolescents continued to show improvements. By 12-month follow-up, there were no significant mean differences in depression symptoms or overall functioning between the two groups. IPT-AST adolescents reported significantly fewer depression diagnoses in the first 6 months following the intervention but by 12-month follow-up the difference in rates of diagnoses was no longer significant. There were no significant differences between the groups at 12-month or 18-month follow-ups. Limitations include that only a third of adolescents with elevated symptoms agreed to participate in the eligibility evaluation, small sample size, SC involved individual counseling which may question the effectiveness of specific IPT-AST techniques over general group processes, many did not complete follow-up assessments, and minority youth were overrepresented which may affect generalizability.

Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: 6, 12, and 18 months.

Young, J. F., Benas, J. S., Schueler, C. M., Gallop, R., Gillham, J. E., & Mufson, L. (2016). A randomized depression prevention trial comparing Interpersonal Psychotherapy-Adolescent Skills Training to group counseling in schools. Prevention Science, 17(3), 314–324. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-015-0620-5

Type of Study: Randomized controlled trial
Number of Participants: 186

Population:

• Age — Mean=14.01 years
• Race/Ethnicity — 38% White/Non-Hispanic, 38% Hispanic, 20% African-American, 8% Other, and 4% Asian
• Gender — 67% Female
• Status — Participants were adolescents in 7th to 10th grade at participating middle schools diagnosed with depression.

Location/Institution: New Jersey

Summary: (To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
The purpose of the study was to examine the efficacy of Interpersonal Psychotherapy-Adolescent Skills Training (IPT-AST) for adolescents with depression in comparison to group programs that are typically delivered in school settings. Participants were randomly assigned to receive IPT-AST or group counseling (GC) delivered by school counselors. Measures utilized include the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale (CES-D), the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children (K-SADS-PL), the Therapy Procedures Checklist (TPC), and the Children’s Global Assessment Scale (CGAS). Results indicate that adolescents in IPT-AST showed significantly greater improvements in self-reported depressive symptoms and evaluator-rated overall functioning than GC adolescents from baseline to the 6-month follow-up. However, there were no significant differences between the two conditions in onset of depression diagnoses. Although both intervention conditions demonstrated significant improvements in depressive symptoms and overall functioning, results indicate that IPT-AST has modest benefits over groups run by school counselors which were matched on frequency and duration of sessions. In particular, IPT-AST outperformed GC in reduction of depressive symptoms and improvements in overall functioning. Limitations include only a third of adolescents with elevated symptoms agreed to participate in the eligibility evaluation; despite significant efforts to make GC an equivalent control group, there were differential rates of attendance for IPT-AST and GC; and length of follow-up.

Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: None.

Young, J. F., Jones, J. D., Sbrilli, M. D., Benas, J. S., Spiro, C. N., Haimm, C. A., Gallop, R., Mufson, L., & Gillham, J. E. (2019). Long-term effects from a school-based trial comparing Interpersonal Psychotherapy-Adolescent Skills Training to group counseling. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 48(sup1), S362–S370. https://doi.org/10.1080/15374416.2018.1479965

Type of Study: Randomized controlled trial
Number of Participants: 186

Population:

• Age — Mean=14.01 years
• Race/Ethnicity — 38% White/Non-Hispanic, 38% Hispanic, 20% African-American, 8% Other, and 4% Asian
• Gender — 67% Female
• Status — Participants were adolescents in 7th to 10th grade at participating middle and high schools diagnosed with depression.

Location/Institution: New Jersey

Summary: (To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
The study used the same sample as Young et al. (2016). The purpose of the study was to examine differences in rates of change in depressive symptoms and overall functioning and differences in rates of depression diagnoses. Participants were randomly assigned to either Interpersonal Psychotherapy–Adolescent Skills Training (IPT-AST) delivered by research clinicians or group counseling (GC) delivered by school counselors. Measures utilized include the Center for Epidemiologic Studies–Depression Scale (CES-D), the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children–Present and Lifetime version (KSADS-PL), and the Children’s Global Assessment Scale (CGAS). Results indicate that youth in both conditions showed significant improvements in depressive symptoms and overall functioning from baseline to 24-month follow-up, demonstrating the efficacy of school-based depression prevention programs. However, the two groups did not differ in overall rates of change or in rates of depression diagnoses from baseline to 24-month follow-up. Although IPT-AST demonstrated advantages over GC in the short term, these effects dissipated over long-term follow-up. Specifically, from 6- to 24- month follow-up, GC youth showed continued decreases in depressive symptoms, whereas IPT-AST youth showed a nonsignificant increase in symptoms. GC youth remained relatively stable in overall functioning, whereas IPT-AST youth experienced a small but statistically significant worsening in functioning. Limitations include testing for common mediators across the whole group, which may obscure intervention effects and reliance on self-report measures.

Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: 6, 12, and 18 months.

Spiro-Levitt, C., Gallop, R., & Young, J. F. (2019). Trajectories of change in maternal and adolescent depressive symptoms in the depression prevention initiative. Journal of Affective Disorders, 253, 176–183. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2019.04.089

Type of Study: Randomized controlled trial
Number of Participants: 167 mother-adolescent dyads

Population:

• Age — Adolescents: Mean=13.49 years; Mothers: Not specified
• Race/Ethnicity — Adolescents: 38% Hispanic, 22% African-American, 7% Other or Mixed Race, 5% Asian-American, and 1% American Indian; Mothers: 38% Hispanic, 20% African-American, 5% Asian-American, and 2% Other or Mixed Race
• Gender — Adolescents: 68% Female; Mothers: 100% Female
• Status — Participants were adolescents in 7th to 10th grade at participating middle and high schools diagnosed with depression.

Location/Institution: New Jersey

Summary: (To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
The study used the same sample as Young et al. (2016). The purpose of the study was to investigate the relationship between maternal and adolescent depressive symptoms. Participants were randomly assigned to Interpersonal Psychotherapy–Adolescent Skills Training (IPT-AST) or enhanced group counseling (GC). Measures utilized include the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale (CES-D), and the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children (K-SADS-PL). Results indicate that initial levels of maternal and adolescent symptoms were positively associated. Additionally, maternal symptoms improved across the two-year period. Across both interventions, there was a significant decrease in maternal depressive symptoms from baseline to 6-month follow-up. Although IPT-AST youth showed significantly greater improvement in depressive symptoms and overall functioning in the short term, GC youth continued to show decreases in depressive symptoms and relatively stable overall functioning during the long-term follow-up, whereas IPT-AST youth showed a nonsignificant increase in depressive symptoms and a small but statistically significant worsening in functioning from 6 to 24 months. Maternal and adolescent outcomes were related across time; as adolescents improved, their mothers also improved. Limitations include the study utilized self-report data only, and did not allow for the testing of causality in the relationship between mother-youth depression.

Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: 6, 12, and 18 months.

Sbrilli, M. D., Jones, J. D., Kanine, R. M., Gallop, R., & Young, J. F. (2020). The depression prevention initiative: Trauma as a moderator of prevention outcomes. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 30(4), 247–259. https://doi.org/10.1177/1063426620945665

Type of Study: Randomized controlled trial
Number of Participants: 186

Population:

• Age — Mean=14.01
• Race/Ethnicity — 38% White/Non-Hispanic, 38% Hispanic, 20% African-American, 8% Other, and 4% Asian
• Gender — 67% Female
• Status — Participants were adolescents in 7th to 10th grade at participating middle and high schools diagnosed with depression.

Location/Institution: New Jersey

Summary: (To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
The study used the same sample as Young et al. (2016). The purpose of the study was to examine the impact of trauma on prevention outcomes in a school-based randomized controlled trial. Participants were randomly assigned to Interpersonal Psychotherapy-Adolescent Skills Training (IPT-AST) or to group counseling (GC). Measures utilized include the Center for Epidemiologic Studies–Depression Scale (CES-D), and the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children (K-SADS-PL). Results indicate that trauma history significantly moderated intervention outcomes during the active phase of the intervention but not during long-term follow-up. During the active phase, youth in IPT-AST with low or no trauma exposure experienced significantly greater reductions in depression symptoms than youth in GC with low or no trauma exposure, but there were no significant differences in rates of change between the two interventions for youth with high or any trauma exposure. During the follow-up phase (6- to 24-month follow-up) categorical trauma (any trauma exposure/no trauma exposure) did not significantly moderate intervention outcomes. That is, the exposure to any traumatic event did not result in a differential response to the interventions through 24-month follow-up. Limitations include the lack of data on the intervention group as a whole, as opposed to only subgroup analyses; that the study lacked a no-intervention control condition; and the lack of a formal trauma assessment.

Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: 6, 12, and 18 months.

Jones, J. D., Gallop, R., Gillham, J. E., Mufson, L., Farley, A. M., Kanine, R., & Young, J. F. (2021). The depression prevention initiative: Mediators of Interpersonal Psychotherapy–Adolescent Skills Training. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 50(2), 202–214. https://doi.org/10.1080/15374416.2019.1644648

Type of Study: Randomized controlled trial
Number of Participants: 186

Population:

• Age — Mean=14.01 years
• Race/Ethnicity — 68% White, 38% Hispanic/Latino, 20% African American, 8% Other or Mixed Race, and 4% Asian
• Gender — 67% Female
• Status — Participants were students in 7th through 10th grades enrolled in participating middle and high schools with elevated depression symptoms.

Location/Institution: New Jersey

Summary: (To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
The study used the same sample as Young et al. (2016). The purpose of the study was to examine interpersonal mediators of Interpersonal Psychotherapy–Adolescent Skills Training (IPT-AST). Participants were randomly assigned to receive either IPT-AST or group counseling (GC). Measures utilized include the Network of Relationships Inventory–Short Form, the Conflict Behavior Questionnaire, the Social Adjustment Scale–Self-Report (SAS-SR), the Center for Epidemiologic Studies–Depression Scale (CES-D), and the Children’s Global Assessment Scale. Results indicate that at postintervention, youth in IPT-AST had lower depressive symptoms and higher overall functioning scores than youth in GC. Improvements in adolescent romantic functioning, reductions in peer conflict, and improvements in a factor score reflecting mother–adolescent conflict and difficulties in family functioning emerged as significant mediators. However, the effects of the intervention on change in the mediators were not statistically significant. Limitations include reliance on self-report measures, internal consistency of the SAS-SR subscales was low, and lack of follow-up.

Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: None.