Preventing depression in high-risk college women: A report of an 18-month follow-up

The authors tested the long-term effectiveness of a cognitive-behavioral gr oup intervention in reducing depressive symptoms, decreasing negative think ing, and enhancing self-esteem in 92 college women aged 18 to 24 years who ere at risk for clinical depression. The women were randomly assigned to ei ther an experimental or a no-treatment control group. The experimental grou p participated in a 6-week cognitive-behavioral intervention that targeted identification and reduction of negative thinking, using such techniques as thought stopping and affirmations. Data on depressive symptoms, self-estee m, and negative thinking were collected before the intervention and at inte rvals of 1, 6, and 18 months postintervention. The women in the interventio n group experienced a greater decrease in depressive symptoms and negative thinking and a greater increase in self-esteem than those in the control gr oup. The beneficial effects continued over an 18-month follow-up period. Th ese findings support the importance of thought stopping and affirmations as prevention interventions with at-risk college women.