Study designs of evaluations included in the review
Studies of the use of cognitive therapy for depressed adolescents were included if the patients with depressive symptoms were selected by some systematic procedure, and if the design included a control group and systematic procedures that were specified in a manual. Case studies and studies that did not use statistical procedures to compare treatment and control conditions were excluded.
Specific interventions included in the review
The following interventions were included: role play; relaxation training; cognitive-behavioural therapy for adolescents with and without parents; self-modelling; social skills; therapeutic support; rational-emotive therapy; structured learning therapy; and control including waiting-list. The number of therapy sessions ranged from 6 to 14. Therapy programmes involved group sessions.
Participants included in the review
Depression. The participants were children or adolescents of both sexes with depression, whose ages ranged from 10 to 19 years. The criteria used to diagnose depression included: a Depression Battery Score of greater than 59; a Beck Depression Inventory Score of greater than 12; a Reynolds Adolescent Depression Index of greater than 72; a Bellevue Index of Depression of greater than 15 and of greater than 20; American Psychiatric Association (DSM-III criteria) diagnosis of major depressive disorder and major dysthymic disorder; Research Diagnostic Criteria diagnosis of current episode of minor or intermittent depressive disorder, based on the Children's Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia; a Childrens Depression Inventory (CDI) score of greater than 12 and of greater than 15; self-report (CDI); a modified Hamilton Depression Scale score of greater than 10; and a Face Valid Depression inventory score of greater than 16.
Outcomes assessed in the review
The measures used to assess the decrease in depressive symptoms included the following: Beck Depression Inventory; Bellevue Index of Depression; Children's Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia; CDI; diagnostic interview; battery of depression tests; self-rated depression; and teachers observations. The outcomes were reported post-test and after follow-up periods ranging from 1 to 9 months.
The other outcome measures included: self-esteem; stimulus appraisal; locus of control; anxiety; academic self-concept; conflict resolution; anxiety, pleasant activities and depressogenic cognitors; problems checklist; self-concept; cognitive distortions; and irrational beliefs.
How were decisions on the relevance of primary studies made?
The author does not state how the papers were selected for the review, or how many of the reviewers performed the selection.