Abstract
BackgroundDepression is a common affliction for young adults, and is associated with a range of adverse outcomes. Cognitive-reminiscence therapy is a brief, structured intervention that has been shown to be highly effective for reducing depressive symptoms, yet to date has not been evaluated in young adult populations. Given its basis in theory-guided reminiscence-based therapy, and incorporation of effective therapeutic techniques drawn from cognitive therapy and problem-solving frameworks, it is hypothesized to be effective in treating depression in this age group.Methods and designThis article presents the design of a randomized controlled trial implemented in a community-based youth mental health service to compare cognitive-reminiscence therapy with usual care for the treatment of depressive symptoms in young adults. Participants in the cognitive-reminiscence group will receive six sessions of weekly, individual psychotherapy, whilst participants in the usual-care group will receive support from the youth mental health service according to usual procedures. A between-within repeated-measures design will be used to evaluate changes in self-reported outcome measures of depressive symptoms, psychological wellbeing and anxiety across baseline, three weeks into the intervention, post-intervention, one month post-intervention and three months post-intervention. Interviews will also be conducted with participants from the cognitive-reminiscence group to collect information about their experience receiving the intervention, and the process underlying any changes that occur.DiscussionThis study will determine whether a therapeutic approach to depression that has been shown to be effective in older adult populations is also effective for young adults. The expected outcome of this study is the validation of a brief, evidence-based, manualized treatment for young adults with depressive symptoms.Trial registrationAustralian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN12613000084785.
Highlights
Depression is a common affliction for young adults, and is associated with a range of adverse outcomes
This study will determine whether a therapeutic approach to depression that has been shown to be effective in older adult populations is effective for young adults
Depression is a prevalent problem for young adults, and is associated with a range of adverse outcomes, including impairments in social, occupational and physical functioning [61], increased experience of pain [62], and higher rates of mortality caused by an increased risk of suicide and physiological changes, such as immunosuppression that increase susceptibility to death [63]
Summary
Study design To evaluate the effectiveness of cognitive-reminiscence therapy in the treatment of young adults with depressive symptoms, we will conduct a randomized controlled trial and compare this intervention with usual care. Sample size Sample size was calculated using GPower 3 [42], with two aims of the current study under consideration: whether participants in the cognitive-reminiscence therapy group report improvements on measures over time, and whether these effects differ from those achieved by usual care. This test has demonstrated good psychometric properties [55], with high internal reliability reported for the short-form version [43] Higher scores on this scale indicate more positive generalized outcome expectancies. Qualitative data In addition to collecting demographics and outcome measures, one-to-one interviews with participants from the cognitive-reminiscence condition will be conducted following completion of the final session of therapy. The project has been approved by the Deakin University Human Research Ethics Committee (DU-HREC 2012–278)
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