Effectiveness of school-based group interventions for depression prevention

Abstract

Five to ten percent of all children and adolescents in Germany suffer from depressive symptoms. Chronic depression is regularly associated with first symptoms of illness in childhood and adolescence. Early prevention of depressive disorders is therefore highly important. We examined the effectiveness of non-pharmacological school-based group interventions for depression prevention using a systematic literature review. Significant improvements in depressive disorders were found in 61% of the included studies. Because of the heterogeneity of study implementation and design, no clear conclusions can be drawn about which factors contribute to the success or failure of the programs. Broad implementation appears premature given the unresolved questions regarding optimal design.