SUSTAINED CHANGE IN PARENTS RECEIVING PREVENTIVE INTERVENTIONS FOR FAMILIES WITH DEPRESSION

Objective: The purpose of this study was to compare the sustained effe cts of two cognitive, psychoeducational preventive Interventions for f amilies in which a parent had an affective disorder. Method: Thirty-se ven families, in which there was a child between the ages of 8 and 15 years (mean=11.5 years) and at least one parent who had experienced a recent epidsode of affective disorder according to the Research Diagno stic Criteria, were studied 1.5 years after enrollment in the study. T he families were randomly assigned to one of two interventions, clinic ian-facilitated or lecture. The two interventions were similar in cont ent but differed in the degree of involvement of the children and the linking of information to the families' life experiences. Nineteen fam ilies participated in the clinician-facilitated intervention, which co nsisted of six to 10 sessions. Eighteen families were assigned to the lecture condition, which consisted of two lectures attended only by pa rents. Family members were interviewed both before and after the inter ventions with diagnostic intel views and semistructured measures desig ned to assess response to the interventions. Results: Sustained effect s of the interventions were reported 1.5 years after enrollment. The c linician-facilitated intervention tvas associated with more positive s elf-reported and assessor-rated changes than the lecture intervention. Conclusions: These short-term preventive interventions, particularly the clinician-facilitated one, have long-term benefits for families wi th parental affective disorder.