Older adults' acceptance of psychological and pharmacological treatments for depression

Two hundred participants aged 65 and older recruited from 4 different famil y medicine clinics rated the acceptability of 3 different treatments for ge riatric depression: (a) cognitive therapy (CT), (b) cognitive bibliotherapy (CB), and (c) antidepressant medication (AM). Results showed that the acce ptability of the treatments is a function of the severity or the symptoms o f the depressed patient to whom they would be applied. CT and CB were rated as more acceptable than AM when patient symptoms were mild to moderate. Ho wever, CT was more acceptable than both CB and AM when patient symptoms wer e described as severe. Acceptability ratings were not related to the raters ' own depressive symptoms. The practical implications of these results are discussed.