R4Power: An Online Resilience Program for Adolescents

This study examines the feasibility of a 10-lesson web-based intervention, the R4Power program, and its effectiveness in preventing symptoms of depression and anxiety. The R4Power Program teaches cognitive and problem-solving skills covered in classroom based interventions, including the Penn Resiliency Program, that have been found to reduce or prevent symptoms of depression in children and adolescents. This study examines whether adolescents can benefit from learning these skills through a computer (rather than classroom) intervention.

Adolescents in grades 6 through 8 who participate in this study will be assigned to one of two conditions: an intervention group that will complete the R4Power program during the first year (R4Power1), or a waitlist control group that will complete the R4Power program the following year (R4Power2). Students will complete the 10-lesson program over the course of twelve weeks. They will learn and practice cognitive skills (recognizing the link between their thoughts and feelings, identifying thinking traps, challenging their negative beliefs) and problem-solving skills (assertiveness, relaxation and distraction, overcoming procrastination, and decision making). Adolescents who participate in this study will be followed for one year, and their coping responses and symptoms of depression and anxiety will be assessed at four points: at the beginning of the study (baseline) and at follow-up assessments approximately 4, 12 and 16 months after baseline.