Preventive Effects of Group Cognitive Behavioral Therapy on University Students with High Risk for Depression

2016 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 25460762
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Epidemiology and preventive medicine
• Research Institution: Nagasaki University
• Principal Investigator: HAYASHIDA Masaki 長崎大学, 保健・医療推進センター, 准教授 (70264223)
• Research Collaborator: OGAWA Sayaka ; BERNICK Peter ; FUKUHARA Nozomi
• Project Period (FY): 2013-04-01 – 2017-03-31
• Keywords: うつ病 / 一次予防介入 / 集団認知行動療法 / パーソナリティ / 大学生 / 無作為化比較試験

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Depressive disorders are one of the leading causes of years lost due to disability in young adults. The personality trait of harm avoidance (HA) has been associated with risk for depression. We examined the effect of group cognitive behavioral therapy (G-CBT) on preventing depression in first-year university students with high HA.
Participants were randomly assigned to either the G-CBT program group or usual care group. Outcomes were measured by the Beck Depression Inventory, the 28-item General Health Questionnaire, and the Manifest Anxiety Scale. No statistically significant between-group differences in depressive symptoms were found at the end of the 12-month follow-up period. However, significant within-group decreases in depressive symptoms were observed in the G-CBT program group. The significant decrease in depressive symptoms sustained over the 12-month follow-up period within the intervention group indicates that G-CBT may, in the short-term, act to prevent depression.

Free Research Field

精神医学