Dataset Information

Do adolescents consider mind-body skills groups an acceptable treatment for depression: results from a pilot study

ABSTRACT:

Background

Mind-Body Skills Groups (MBSGs) have shown promise in reducing adolescent depression symptoms; however, little is known about adolescents’ perspectives on this treatment. The objective of this study was to understand the acceptability of a new treatment for depressed adolescents in primary care settings.

Methods

Adolescents participating in a 10-week MBSG treatment were interviewed to understand their perspectives on the acceptability and effectiveness of the treatment. Interviews were collected at post-intervention and at a 3-month follow-up visit.

Results

A total of 39 adolescents completed both the post-intervention and 3-month follow-up interview. At post-intervention and follow-up, 84% of adolescents stated the MBSGs helped them. When asked how the MBSGs helped them, 3 areas were identified: learning new MBSG activities and skills, social connection with others within the group, and outcomes related to the group. Many adolescents reported no concerns with the MBSGs (49% at post- intervention; 62% at follow-up). Those with concerns identified certain activities as not being useful, wanting the group to be longer, and the time of group (after school) being inconvenient. Most adolescents reported that their life had changed because of the group (72% at post-intervention; 61% at follow-up), and when asked how, common responses included feeling less isolated and more hopeful.

Conclusions

Adolescents found the MBSGs to be helpful and acceptable as a treatment option for depression in primary care. Given the strong emphasis on treatment preference autonomy and the social activities within the group, MBSGs appear well-suited for this age group.

Trial registration

NCT03363750; December 6th, 2017.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12887-021-02942-3.

SUBMITTER: Cunningham L

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8549145 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Similar Datasets

Project description:BACKGROUND:Adolescence is a challenging period, where youth face rapid changes as well as increasing socioemotional demands and threats, such as bullying and cyberbullying. Adolescent mental health and well-being can be best supported by providing effective coaching on life skills, such as coping strategies and protective factors. Interventions that take advantage of online coaching by means of chatbots, deployed on Web or mobile technology, may be a novel and more appealing way to support positive mental health for adolescents. OBJECTIVE:In this pilot study, we co-designed and conducted a formative evaluation of an online, life skills coaching, chatbot intervention, inspired by the positive technology approach, to promote mental well-being in adolescence. METHODS:We co-designed the first life skills coaching session of the CRI (for girls) and CRIS (for boys) chatbot with 20 secondary school students in a participatory design workshop. We then conducted a formative evaluation of the entire intervention-eight sessions-with a convenience sample of 21 adolescents of both genders (mean age 14.52 years). Participants engaged with the chatbot sessions over 4 weeks and filled in an anonymous user experience questionnaire at the end of each session; responses were based on a 5-point Likert scale. RESULTS:A majority of the adolescents found the intervention useful (16/21, 76%), easy to use (19/21, 90%), and innovative (17/21, 81%). Most of the participants (15/21, 71%) liked, in particular, the video cartoons provided by the chatbot in the coaching sessions. They also thought that a session should last only 5-10 minutes (14/21, 66%) and said they would recommend the intervention to a friend (20/21, 95%). CONCLUSIONS:We have presented a novel and scalable self-help intervention to deliver life skills coaching to adolescents online that is appealing to this population. This intervention can support the promotion of coping skills and mental well-being among youth.

Project description:BackgroundDepression is a common mental health problem with significant personal and social consequences. Studies have suggested that cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is an effective treatment for depression and anxiety when delivered one-to-one by an expert practitioner, but access to this talking therapy is often limited, and waiting lists can be long. However, a range of low-intensity interventions that can increase access to services are available including guided CBT self-help materials delivered via books, classes, and online packages.ObjectiveThis project aimed to pilot a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of an online CBT-based life skills course with community-based individuals experiencing depression.MethodsIndividuals with symptoms of depression were recruited directly from the community via newspaper advertisements. Participants were remotely randomized to receive either immediate access (IA) or delayed access (DA) to a research version of the Living Life to the Full online CBT-based life skills package (3rd edition) with telephone support provided by nonspecialist, charity-based workers while they used the online intervention. The primary end point was at 3 months postrandomization, at which point, the DA group were offered the intervention. Levels of depression, anxiety, social functioning, and satisfaction were assessed.ResultsThere were effective recruitment, randomization, and uptake, with 19 IA and 17 DA control participants entering the pilot study via newspaper advertisements and 13 of the 19 participants taking up the intervention. Overall, 72% (26/36) were not currently under the care of their general practitioner. The online package was acceptable to participants; the mean satisfaction score on the Client Satisfaction Questionnaire was 21 out of 32 (SD 8.89). At 3 months, data collection was achieved from 78% (28/36) of the participants. The efficacy and retention data were used for a power calculation indicating that 72 participants in total will be required for a future substantive RCT.ConclusionsThe research design successfully tested the recruitment, data collection, and intervention delivery. The pilot study has provided data for the required sample size for the full RCT.Trial registrationISRCTN registry ISRCTN12890709; https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN12890709.International registered report identifier (irrid)RR2-10.1186/s13063-016-1336-y.