Attachment-based family therapy for depressed adolescents: a treatment development study.
OBJECTIVE
To design a treatment manual and adherence measure for attachment-based family therapy (ABFT) for adolescent depression and to collect pilot data on the treatment's efficacy.


METHODS
Over a period of 2 years, 32 adolescents meeting criteria for major depressive disorder (MDD) were randomly assigned to 12 weeks of ABFT or a 6-week, minimal-contact, waitlist control group. The sample was 78% female and 69% African American; 69% were from low-income, inner-city communities.


RESULTS
At post-treatment, 81% of the patients treated with ABFT no longer met criteria for MDD, in contrast with 47% of patients in the waitlist group. Mixed factorial analyses of variance revealed that, compared with the waitlist group, patients treated with ABFT showed a significantly greater reduction in both depressive and anxiety symptoms and family conflict. Of the 15 treated cases assessed at the follow-up, 13 patients (87%) continued to not meet criteria for MDD 6 months after treatment ended.


CONCLUSIONS
ABFT appears to be a promising treatment and worthy of further development.
D000293:Adolescent; D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000628:therapy*; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005196:Family Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008370:Manuals as Topic; D009769:Object Attachment; D010349:Patient Compliance; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011203:Poverty