Abstract
Extensive psychological interventions primarily target the negative symptoms of depression and the deficits in positive resources have been systematically neglected. So far, little attention has been devoted to psychological capital (PsyCap) intervention from the perspective of developing positive resources. The aim of the present pilot study was to evaluate the efficacy of psychological capital intervention (PCI) for depression in a randomized controlled trial. A total of 56 patients were randomized to either care as usual (CAU) for normal medication or psychological capital intervention (PCI) group, where the normal medication was supplemented with the PCI. Participants were assessed at pre- and post-treatment, as well as 6-month follow-up, on measures of depressive symptoms and PsyCap. The PCI group displayed significantly larger improvements in PsyCap and larger reductions in depression symptoms from pre- to post treatment compared to control group. Improvements were sustained over the 6-month follow-up period. Targeting the positive resources intervention in the PCI may be effective against the treatment of depression.
Highlights
Depression is a highly prevalent mental disorder with lifetime prevalence rates for depression at over 16% (Kessler, 2003)
The results of Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) revealed that individuals in the psychological capital intervention (PCI) group demonstrated significantly greater psychological capital (PsyCap) at posttreatment compared to participants in the care as usual (CAU) group
ANCOVA results revealed that the PCI group reported experiencing significantly fewer symptoms of depression, at post-treatment relative to participants in the CAU group
Summary
Depression is a highly prevalent mental disorder with lifetime prevalence rates for depression at over 16% (Kessler, 2003). The onset of depression is accompanied by a host of undesirable health, social consequences, it creates a substantial financial burden (Dunlop et al, 2005; Lopez and Mathers, 2006; Kessler, 2012; Papakostas and Ionescu, 2014). Given these ramifications, it is critical to concentrate on intervention efforts. There are no major differences in efficacy between these psychotherapies and all demonstrated their efficacy (Cuijpers et al, 2008)
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