University psychologists are teaming up with 10 other research institutions across the country to help identify the most effective way to treat depression in children and adolescents.
The National Institute of Mental Health has poured $15 million into the project, which will involve a total of 432 adolescents between the ages of 12 and 17, including 48 local teens. The research effort is aimed at comparing the effectiveness of various treatments against major depressive disorder or MDD.
The form of depression affects about one in 20 children and adolescents, University clinical psychologist and the study’s co-director Anne Simons said. She said that this particular study, called the Treatment of Adolescent Depression Study, is important because more is known about depression in adults than in teens and early intervention may help future depressions.
Just getting teens to participate in the study can help, Simons said.
“One thing about depression is that it is very isolating,” she said. “So, seeking treatment forces [a person] to interact with other people.”
The study is designed to compare four treatments for MDD. The anti-depressant Prozac will be given to a portion of the subjects, while cognitive behavior therapy — which teaches participants skills about how thoughts and behaviors influence their moods — will be used with other participants.
The third form of treatment is a combination of Prozac and the behavioral methods, and the fourth group will be given a placebo pill.
“We want to find out which of the treatments produce the most immediate and long-lasting benefits,” said Kathy Hadjiyannakis, a University graduate student who will coordinate the study, in a press release.
The treatment is free to participants and Simons has been contacting local child and adolescent agencies to seek candidates for the study.
“It’s a $15 million project so the [NIMH] obviously thinks that adolescent depression is an important issue to study,” Simons said. “That’s nice for me because I do, too.”
For more information about participating in the project, teens and parents can call the TADS office at 346-4987.