Brief interpersonal psychotherapy for depressed mothers whose children are receiving psychiatric treatment.
OBJECTIVE
Depressed mothers of children with psychiatric illness struggle with both their own psychiatric disorder and the demands of caring for ill children. When maternal depression remains untreated, mothers suffer, and psychiatric illness in their offspring is less likely to improve. This randomized, controlled trial compared the interpersonal psychotherapy for depressed mothers (IPT-MOMS), a nine-session intervention based on standard interpersonal psychotherapy, to treatment as usual for depressed mothers with psychiatrically ill offspring.


METHODS
Forty-seven mothers meeting DSM-IV criteria for major depression were recruited from a pediatric mental health clinic where their school-age children were receiving psychiatric treatment and randomly assigned to IPT-MOMS (N=26) or treatment as usual (N=21). Mother-child pairs were assessed at three time points: baseline, 3-month follow-up, and 9-month follow-up. Child treatment was not determined by the study.


RESULTS
Compared to subjects assigned to treatment as usual, subjects assigned to IPT-MOMS showed significantly lower levels of depression symptoms, as measured by the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, and higher levels of functioning, as measured by the Global Assessment of Functioning, at 3-month and 9-month follow-ups. Compared to the offspring of mothers receiving treatment as usual, the offspring of mothers assigned to IPT-MOMS showed significantly lower levels of depression as measured by the Children's Depressive Inventory at the 9-month follow-up.


CONCLUSIONS
Assignment to IPT-MOMS was associated with reduced levels of maternal symptoms and improved functioning at the 3- and 9-month follow-ups compared to treatment as usual. Maternal improvement preceded improvement in offspring, suggesting that maternal changes may mediate child outcomes.
Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, USA. swartzha@upmc.edu
Holly A
HA
Swartz
Ellen
E
Frank
Allan
A
Zuckoff
Jill M
JM
Cyranowski
Patricia R
PR
Houck
Yu
Y
Cheng
M A Dana
MA
Fleming
Nancy K
NK
Grote
David A
DA
Brent
M Katherine
MK
Shear
D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D016241:Child of Impaired Parents / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy*; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D008605:Mental Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology*; D011570:Psychiatry / Q000379:methods*; D011614:Psychotherapy, Brief / Q000379:methods*; D011615:Psychotherapy, Group / Q000379:methods*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D016896:Treatment Outcome