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CBT for Preventing Depression in Teens? It Depends

• Does this suggest universal preventive intervention is preferred to indicated prevention?
• Universal vs. Indicated Prevention

Does this suggest universal preventive intervention is preferred to indicated prevention?

Robert W Anthony, Adolescent Wellness, Inc., 22 Jul 2009 3:53 PM EST

Competing interests: Advocate for prevention and earlier treatment of depression.

Since 'Group outcomes ... were significantly better with CBT among teens whose parents did not currently have MDD (incident MDD: 12% vs. 41% with usual care)', does this suggest that prevention for all adolescents is preferred to targeting only at-risk adolescents?

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Universal vs. Indicated Prevention

Barbara Geller, MD, Emeritus Professor, Washington University in St. Louis; Journal Watch Psychiatry Associate Editor, 29 Jul 2009 11:47 AM EST

Competing interests: Summary author

You have raised a very excellent question about what this work means clinically. Some might infer that using preventive measures across the board might in many ways be easiest administratively and thus most cost- effective. Another possibility is that CBT works best when environmental and adverse life-event factors are more prominent in a teenager, rather than inherited aspects. If that is the case, then screening out adolescents with familial histories might be a more focused approach.

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