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Preventing Depression Among Early Adolescents in the Primary Care Setting: A Randomized Controlled Study of the Penn Resiliency Program

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An Erratum to this article was published on 10 January 2008

This study evaluated the Penn Resiliency Program's effectiveness in preventing depression when delivered by therapists in a primary care setting. Two-hundred and seventy-one 11- and 12-year-olds, with elevated depressive symptoms, were randomized to PRP or usual care. Over the 2-year follow-up, PRP improved explanatory style for positive events. PRP's effects on depressive symptoms and explanatory style for negative events were moderated by sex, with girls benefiting more than boys. Stronger effects were seen in high-fidelity groups than low-fidelity groups. PRP did not significantly prevent depressive disorders but significantly prevented depression, anxiety, and adjustment disorders (when combined) among high-symptom participants. Findings are discussed in relation to previous PRP studies and research on the dissemination of psychological interventions.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The first two authors contributed equally to this project. The authors are grateful to the children and parents who participated in the project, to Ms. Jane Mardison for her help in gathering the data, to Dr. Jerrold DiRegolo and Mr. Conrad Gonzalez for their group work, to Mr. Tom Ray at the Division of Research for supplying and organizing data from central servers, and to the Kaiser Foundation Research Institute for funding this research. We offer a special thanks to Samantha Gaiber, Rachel Moser, Ivy Pete, and Steve Brunwasser for putting in the many hours of detail work that made this project possible.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Psychology Department, Swarthmore College and Psychology Department, University of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania, USA

    Jane E. Gillham

  2. The Permanente Medical Group of California and Kellogg College , University of Oxford, California, USA

    John Hamilton

  3. Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania, USA

    Derek R. Freres

  4. The Permanente Medical Group of California, California, USA

    Ken Patton

  5. Department of Mathematics Applied Statistics Program, West Chester University, West Chester, USA

    Robert Gallop

  6. Psychology Department, Swarthmore College, 500 College Avenue, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, 19081, USA

    Jane E. Gillham

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  1. Jane E. Gillham
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Correspondence to Jane E. Gillham.

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An erratum to this article is available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10802-007-9212-6.

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Gillham, J.E., Hamilton, J., Freres, D.R. et al. Preventing Depression Among Early Adolescents in the Primary Care Setting: A Randomized Controlled Study of the Penn Resiliency Program. J Abnorm Child Psychol 34, 195–211 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-005-9014-7

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