Defense Date

3-11-2009

Graduation Date

Spring 2009

Availability

Immediate Access

Submission Type

dissertation

Degree Name

PhD

Department

School Psychology

School

School of Education

Committee Chair

Tammy Hughes

Committee Member

Kara McGoey

Committee Member

Jeffrey Miller

Keywords

Depression, Adolescents, IPT-A, Interpersonal, Treatment, Schools

Abstract

Depression affects the lives of an estimated 2 to 8% of adolescents in the United States. This disturbance of mood impacts many facets of the individual's life, including the ability to participate in and benefit from educational experiences. School psychologists are challenged to find effective treatments for adolescents experiencing depression that can be delivered in a school setting. Interpersonal Psychotherapy for Adolescents (IPT-A; Mufson, Dorta, Moreau, & Weissman, 2004) has been found effective for adolescents in clinical settings as well as in urban, school-based clinics. Its use as an efficacious treatment with adolescent students in a traditional public school setting needs to be examined. The current study used a multiple-baseline design to measure the progress of four depressed adolescents in a public school setting with IPT-A treatment. Data was collected prior to intervention, weekly during intervention, after the intervention, and approximately three months later for follow-up. The adolescents, a parent, and a teacher responded to the Behavior Assessment System for Children (BASC-2; Reynolds & Kamphaus, 2004) rating scale before intervention, post-intervention, and at follow-up. The adolescents also responded to the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI; Kovacs, 1992) and a researcher-created rating to assess mood and social interaction. Each was administered on a weekly basis. Results indicated significant reduction in reported depressive symptoms, confirmation of IPT-A as an efficacious treatment for adolescent depression in the public school setting.

Format

PDF

Language

English

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