The Effectiveness of Interpersonal Counseling for Stress-coping and Depression in Japanese young people

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 25380965
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Clinical psychology
• Research Institution: Kwansei Gakuin University
• Principal Investigator: ONO Hisae 関西学院大学, 文学部, 教授 (40324925)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): TSUJII Noa 近畿大学, 医学部, 講師 (90460914)
• Research Collaborator: TAKETANI Reiko 関西学院大学, 大学院文学研究科, 大学院研究員 ; TSUJIMOTO Emi 関西学院大学, 大学院文学研究科, 大学院研究員 ; YAMAMOTO Ami 関西学院大学, 大学院文学研究科, 博士課程後期課程大学院生
• Project Period (FY): 2013-04-01 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: 心理学的介入 / 対人関係カウンセリング / ストレスコーピング / 抑うつ状態 / 若年層 / 自殺予防 / 光トポグラフィ

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Stress coping and suicide in young people are some of the most important public health problems in Japan. The objective of the study was to examine if Interpersonal Counseling (IPC) was superior to ordinary supportive counseling (OSC) in improving stress coping and depression in Japanese young people. Subjects were randomized to receive either IPC (n = 14) or OSC (n = 10). The results showed that there was no statistical difference between IPC and OSC in terms of efficacy for improving stress coping and depression, however the findings from this study suggested that IPC might be more effective in increasing task-oriented stress coping and in improving depression. Moreover, this study suggested that IPC might differentially alter the activity of the prefrontal cortex under the inhibitory control stimuli compared to OSC. The study was an exploratory study and the sample size was small; therefore, further studies need to be conducted with larger samples.

Free Research Field

臨床心理学