Abstract
Some of the most common psychological disorders in children and adolescents are internalizing disorders such as depression and anxiety. Research on the development of depression and anxiety suggests that internalizing disorders can be reduced, even prevented, by promoting more accurate cognitive styles, problem-solving skills, and supportive family relationships. Several cognitive-behavioral interventions have shown promise in treating and preventing depression and anxiety. We review the Penn Resiliency Program as an example of such an intervention. We suggest that most of the skills covered in the Penn Resiliency Program and similar preventive interventions are not specific to depression or anxiety and can be useful for increasing young people’s resiliency more generally. Interventions that teach and reinforce these skills can help children to navigate a variety of difficult situations they are likely to encounter during adolescence and adulthood.
Keywords
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Abramson, L. Y., Seligman, M. E. P., & Teasdale, J. D. (1978). Learned helplessness in humans: Critique and reformulation. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 87, 49–74.
Altmann, E. O., & Gotlib, I. H. (1988). The social behavior of depressed children: An observational study. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 16, 29–44.
Beardslee, W. R., Wright, E. J., Salt, P., Drezner, K., Gladstone, T. R. G., Versage, E. M. et al. (1997). Examination of children’s responses to two preventive intervention strategies over time. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 36, 196–204.
Beck, A. T. (1976). Cognitive therapy and the emotional disorders. New York: International Universities Press.
Beck, A. T., Rush, J. A., Shaw, B. F., & Emery, G. (1979). Cognitive therapy of depression. New York: Guilford
Bemporad, J. (1994). Dynamic and interpersonal theories of depression. In W. M. Reynolds & H. F. Johnston (Eds.), Handbook of depression in children and adolescents. Issues in clinical child psychology (pp. 81–95). New York: Plenum.
Blumberg, S., & Izard, C. E. (1985). Affective and cognitive characteristics of depression in 10-and 11-year-old children. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 49, 194–202.
Bronfenbrenner, U. (1986). Ecology of the family as a context for human development: Research perspectives. Developmental Psychology, 22, 723–742.
Brooks, R., & Goldstein, S. (2002). Raising resilient children: Fostering strength, hope, and optimism in your child. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Caplan, M., Weissberg, R. P., Grober, J. S., Sivo, P. J., Grady, K., & Jacoby, C. (1992). Social competence promotion with inner-city and suburban young adolescents: Effects on social adjustment and alcohol use. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 60, 56–63.
Cardemil, E. V., Reivich, K. J., & Seligman, M. E. P. (2002). The prevention of depressive symptoms in inner-city middle school students. Prevention and Treatment, 5, n.p.
Clarke, G. N., Hawkins, W., Murphy, M., Sheeber, L. B., Lewinsohn, P. M., & Seeley, J. R. (1995). Targeted prevention of unipolar depressive disorder in an at-risk sample of high school adolescents: A randomized trial of a group cognitive intervention. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 34, 312–321.
Clarke, G. N., Hornbrook, M., Lynch, F., Polen, M., Gale, J., Beardslee, W. et al. (2001). A randomized trial of a group cognitive intervention for preventing depression in adolescent offspring of depressed parents. Archives of General Psychiatry, 58, 1127–1134.
Cohen, P., Cohen, J., Kasen, S., Velez, C. N., Hartmark, C., Johnson, J. et al. (1993). An epidemiological study of disorders in late childhood and adolescence: I. Age and gender-specific prevalence. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 34, 851–867.
Covey, L. S., Glassman, A. H., & Stetner, F. (1998). Cigarette smoking and major depression. Journal of Addictive Diseases, 17, 35–46.
Dadds, M. R., Spence, S. H., Holland, D. E., Barrett, P. M., & Laurens, K. R. (1997). Prevention and early intervention for anxiety disorders: A controlled trial. Journal of Consulting & Clinical Psychology, 65, 627–635.
Downey, G., & Coyne, J. C. (1990). Children of depressed parents: An integrative review. Psychological Bulletin, 108(1), 50–76.
Eccles, J. S., & Midgley, C. (1990). Changes in academic motivation and self-perception during early adolescence. In R. Montemayor, G. R. Adams, & T. P. Gullotta (Eds.), From childhood to adolescence: A transitional period? Advances in adolescent development: An annual book series, Vol. 2 (pp. 134–155). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage
Elkin, I., Shea, M. T., Watkins, J. T., Imber, S. D., Sotsky, S. M., Collins, J. F. et al. (1989). National Institute of Mental Health treatment of depression collaborative research program: General effectiveness of treatments. Archives of General Psychiatry, 46, 971–982.
Ellis, A. (1962). Reason and emotion in psychotherapy. New York: Lyle Stuart.
Field, T. M. (1984). Early interactions between infants and their postpartum depressed mothers. Infant Behavior and Development, 7, 517–522.
Flannery-Schroeder, E., & Kendall, P. C. (2000). Group and individual cognitive-behavioral treatment for youth with anxiety disorders: A randomized clinical trial. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 24, 251–278.
Garber, J., & Flynn, C. (1998). Origins of depressive cognitive style. In D. K. Routh & R. J. DeRubeis (Eds.), The science of clinical psychology: Accomplishments and future directions (pp. 53–93). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Garber, J., & Flynn, C. (2001). Predictors of depressive cognitions in young adolescents. Cognitive Theory and Research, 25, 353–376.
Garber, J., Quiggle, N., & Shanley, N. (1990). Cognition and depression in children and adolescents. In Ingram (Ed.), Contemporary psychological approaches to depression: Theory, research, and treatment (pp. 87–116). New York: Plenum.
Garrison, C. Z., Addy, C. L., Jackson, K. L., McKeown, R. E., & Waller, J. L. (1991). A longitudinal study of suicidal ideation in young adolescents. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 30, 597–603.
Gillham, J. E., & Reivich, K. J. (1999). Prevention of depressive symptoms in school children: A research update. Psychological Science, 10, 461–462.
Gillham, J. E., Reivich, K. J., Freres, D. R., Shatté, A. J., & Seligman, M. E. P. (2003). School-based prevention of depression and anxiety symptoms: Pilot of a parent component to the Penn Resiliency Program. Unpublished raw data.
Gillham, J. E., Reivich, K. J., Jaycox, L. H., & Seligman, M. E. P. (1995). Preventing depressive symptoms in schoolchildren: Two year follow-up. Psychological Science, 6, 343–351.
Gillham, J. E., Shatté, A. J., & Freres, D. R. (2000). Preventing depression: A review of cognitive-behavioral and family interventions. Applied and Preventive Psychology, 7, 63–88.
Gladstone, T. R. G., & Kaslow, N. J. (1995). Depression and attributions in children and adolescents: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 23, 597–606.
Gotlib, I. H., Lewinsohn, P. M, & Seeley, J. R. (1995). Symptoms versus a diagnosis of depression: Differences in psychosocial functioning. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 63, 90–100.
Hankin, B. L., Abramson, L. Y., Moffitt, T. E., Silva, P. A., & McGee, R. (1998). Development of depression from preadolescence to young adulthood: Emerging gender differences in a 10-year longitudinal study. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 107, 128–140.
Hammen, C., & Rudolph, K. D. (2003). Childhood mood disorders. In E. J. Mash & R. A. Barkley (Eds.), Child psychopathology (2nd ed., pp. 233–278). New York: Guilford.
Harrington, R., Fudge, H., Rutter, M., Pickles, A., & Hill, J. (1990). Adult outcomes of childhood and adolescent depression: Psychiatric status. Archives of General Psychiatry, 47, 465–473.
Hirschfeld, R., Keller, M., Panico, S., Arons, B., Barlow, D., Davidoff, F. et al. (1997). The National Depressive and Manic-Depressive Association consensus statement on the undertreatment of depression. Journal of the American Medical Association, 277, 333–340.
Kashani, J. H., & Orvaschel, H. (1990). A community study of anxiety in children and adolescents: Current progress and future research directions, American Journal of Psychiatry, 147, 313–318.
Kaslow, N. J., Brown, R. T., & Mee, L. L. (1994). Cognitive and behavioral correlates of childhood depression: A developmental perspective. In W. M. Reynolds & H. F. Johnston (Eds.), Handbook of depression in children and adolescents (pp. 97–121). New York: Plenum.
Kaslow, N. J., & Thompson, M. P. (1998). Applying the criteria for empirically supported treatments to studies of psychosocial interventions for child and adolescent depression. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 27, 146–155.
Kendall, P. C. (1994). Treating anxiety disorders in children: Results of a randomized clinical trial. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 65, 366–380.
Klerman, G. L., Lavori, P. W., Rice, J., Reich, T., Endicott, J., Andreasen, N. C. et al. (1985). Birth cohort trends in rates of major depressive disorder: A study of relatives of patients with affective disorder. Archives of General Psychiatry, 42, 689–693.
Lewinsohn, P. M., Hops, H., Roberts, R., & Seeley, J. (1993). Adolescent psychopathology: I. Prevalence and incidence of depression and other DSM-III-R disorders in high school students. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 102, 110–120.
Lewinsohn, P. M., Clarke, G. N., Hops, H., & Andrews, J. (1990). Cognitive-behavioral group treatment of depression in adolescents. Behavior Therapy, 21, 385–401.
Lewinsohn, P. M., Clarke, G. N., Rohde, P., Hops, H., & Seeley, J. (1996). A course in coping: A cognitive-behavioral approach to the treatment of adolescent depression. In E. D. Hibbs & P. S. Jensen (Eds.), Psychosocial treatments for child and adolescent disorders: Empirically based strategies for clinical practice (pp. 109–135). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Muris, P., Meesters, C., & van Melick, M. (2002). Treatment of childhood anxiety disorders: A preliminary comparison between cognitive-behavioral group therapy and a psychological placebo intervention. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 33, 143–158.
Nolen-Hoeksema, S., Girgus, J. S., & Seligman, M. E. P. (1986). Depression in children of families in turmoil. Unpublished manuscript, University of Pennsylvania.
Nolen-Hoeksema, S., Girgus, J. S., & Seligman, M. E. P. (1992). Predictors and consequences of childhood depressive symptoms: A five-year longitudinal study. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 101, 405–422.
Offord, D. R. (1996). The state of prevention and early intervention. In R. D. Peters & R. J. McMahon (Eds.), Preventing childhood disorders, substance abuse, and delinquency (pp. 329–344). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Pattison, C., & Lynd-Stevenson, R. M. (2001). The prevention of depressive symptoms in children: The immediate and long-term outcomes of a school based program. Behaviour Change, 18(2), 92–102.
Petersen, A. C., & Hamburg, B. A. (1986). Adolescence: A developmental approach to problems and psychopathology. Behavior Therapy, 17, 480–499.
Quiggle, N. L., Garber, J., Panak, W. F., & Dodge, K. A. (1992). Social information processing in aggressive and depressed children. Child Development, 63, 1305–1320.
Reinecke, M. A., Ryan, N. E., & DuBois, D. L. (1997). Cognitive-behavioral therapy of depression and depressive symptoms during adolescence: A review and meta-analysis. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 37(1), 6–34.
Reivich, K. J., & Shatté, A. J. (2002). The resilience factor. New York: Random House-Doubleday.
Rhode, P., Lewisohn, P., & Seeley, J. (1991). Comorbidity of unipolar depression: II. Comorbidity with other mental disorders in adolescents and adults. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 100, 214–222.
Roberts, C., Kane, R., Thompson, H., Bishop, B., & Hart, B. (2003). The prevention of depressive symptoms in rural school children: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 71, 622–628.
Robins, C. J., & Hayes, A. M. (1995). The role of causal attributions in the prediction of depression. In G. M. Buchanan & M. E. P. Segliman (Eds.), Explanatory style (pp. 71–97). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Romano, E., Tremblay, R. E., Vitaro, F., Zoccolillo, M., & Pagani, L. (2001). Prevalence of psychiatric diagnoses and the role of perceived impairment: Findings from an adolescent community sample. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, 42, 451–461.
Seligman, M. E. P. (1975). Helplessness: On depression, development, and death. San Francisco: Freeman.
Shea, M. R., Elkin, I., Imber, S. D., Sotsky, S. M., Watkins, J., Collins, J. F. et al. (1990). Course of depressive symptoms over follow-up: Findings from the National Institute of Mental Health treatment of depression collaborative research program. Archives of General Psychiatry, 49, 782–787.
Spitz, R. (1946). Anaclitic depression. Psychoanalytic Study of the Child, 5, 113–117.
Sroufe, L. A., & Rutter, M. (1984). The domain of developmental psychopathology. Child Development, 55, 17–29.
Sweeny, P. D., Anderson, K., & Bailey, S. (1986). Attributional style in depression: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 50, 974–991.
Twenge, J. M. (2000). The age of anxiety? Birth cohort change in anxiety and neuroticism, 1952–1993. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 79, 1007–1021.
Whitaker, A., Johnson, J., Shaffer, D., Rapoport, J. L., Kalikow, K., Walsh, B. T. et al. (1990). Uncommon troubles in young people: Prevalence estimates of selected psychiatric disorders in a nonreferred adolescent population. Archives of General Psychiatry, 47, 487–496.
Yu, D. L. & Seligman, M. E. P. (2002). Preventing depressive symptoms in Chinese children. Prevention and Treatment, 5, n.p.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2005 Springer Science+Business Media, Inc.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Reivich, K., Gillham, J.E., Chaplin, T.M., Seligman, M.E.P. (2005). From Helplessness to Optimism. In: Goldstein, S., Brooks, R.B. (eds) Handbook of Resilience in Children. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-306-48572-9_14
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/0-306-48572-9_14
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-0-306-48571-8
Online ISBN: 978-0-306-48572-5
eBook Packages: Behavioral ScienceBehavioral Science and Psychology (R0)