Activating and Connecting Teens (ACT) Study

Not Applicable

Completed

Brief Summary: National data indicate over 650,000 children and adolescents are exposed to physical, sexual, or emotional abuse or physical or emotional neglect each year. Moreover, youth with a history of childhood maltreatment (CM) are at least twice as likely to develop depression and are at substantial risk for nonresponse to current best practice depression interventions (i.e., cognitive behavioral therapy and antidepressants) compared to non-maltreated peers. Research suggests that CM increases risk for depression through disruptions in the positive valence system, such as reward processing, and Behavioral Activation (BA) may be an alternative depression intervention that targets these deficits. This proposal will examine whether BA intervention reduces depression and anhedonia in a sample of depressed adolescents, aged 13-18, with variable histories of CM exposure (BA Group). A total of 30 depressed adolescents will be recruited to undergo a 12-week course of BA. All participants will undergo clinical assessment to measure depression symptoms and anhedonia at baseline (Week 0) and post- (Week 12) treatment.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria

Not provided

Exclusion Criteria

IQ < 80;
non-English speaking youth or parent;
current PTSD diagnosis;
lifetime history of a developmental (e.g., autism), neurological (e.g., epilepsy), psychotic, bipolar, or substance disorder;
current psychiatric (e.g., antidepressants) or other mood altering medication (e.g., steroids) other than AD/HD medication;
requiring a higher level of care (i.e., inpatient hospitalization) due to suicidality or other mental or physical health related problem.
Any youths who are currently being maltreated will not be enrolled to ensure that participants do not have active safety concerns.
Full course of other evidence-based depression intervention

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Behavioral Activation Arm	Behavioral Activation	See treatment description for information on Behavioral Activation. Participants will receive 12 weekly sessions of Behavioral Activation.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Depression	Week 12 (post-treatment)	Changes in depression symptoms will be measured with self-report on the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). Total score will be reported with a range of 0 to 27 with higher scores indicating greater symptoms of depression. Higher symptoms of depression are considered a worse outcome.
Anhedonia/Activation	Week 12	Changes in feelings of loss of pleasure and interest (i.e., Anhedonia) will be measured via self-report on the Behavioral Activation for Depression Scale (BADS) total score. The range on the BADS is 0 to 150, with higher scores representing less activation. Higher scores are considered a worse outcome on this measure.

Secondary Outcome Measures