Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29097357›Full record

Trial reportJournal of medical Internet research2017

Preventing Depression in Final Year Secondary Students: School-Based Randomized Controlled Trial.

Yael Perry, Aliza Werner-Seidler, Alison Calear, Andrew Mackinnon, Catherine King, Jan Scott, Sally Merry, Theresa Fleming, Karolina Stasiak, Helen Christensen and 1 more

Open access · goldAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Journal of medical Internet research, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 46 papers, 9 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
46citing papers in PubMed, 9 pooled it
9.6field-weighted citation impact, top 2% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

46 citing papers in PubMed, 9 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 115 citations in OpenAlex.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors at 4 institutions in 3 countries.

Yael PerryBlack Dog Institute, University of New South Wales, Randwick, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-7974-3434
Aliza Werner-SeidlerBlack Dog Institute, University of New South Wales, Randwick, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-9046-6159
Alison CalearNational Institute for Mental Health Research, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-7028-725X
Andrew MackinnonBlack Dog Institute, University of New South Wales, Randwick, Australia.ORCID 0000-0003-0831-9801
Catherine KingBlack Dog Institute, University of New South Wales, Randwick, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-3075-7819
Jan ScottInstitute of Neuroscience, University of Newcastle, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom.ORCID 0000-0002-7203-8601
Sally MerryDepartment of Psychological Medicine, University of Auckland, Grafton, New Zealand.ORCID 0000-0002-8281-1573
Theresa FlemingDepartment of Psychological Medicine, University of Auckland, Grafton, New Zealand.ORCID 0000-0002-5174-9359
Karolina StasiakDepartment of Psychological Medicine, University of Auckland, Grafton, New Zealand.ORCID 0000-0002-1153-3123
Helen ChristensenBlack Dog Institute, University of New South Wales, Randwick, Australia.ORCID 0000-0003-0435-2065
Philip J BatterhamNational Institute for Mental Health Research, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-4547-6876
Black Dog Institute · AUUniversity of Auckland · NZAustralian National University · AUNewcastle University · GB

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundDepression often emerges for the first time during adolescence. There is accumulating evidence that universal depression prevention programs may have the capacity to reduce the impact of depression when delivered in the school environment.

objectiveThis trial investigated the effectiveness of SPARX-R, a gamified online cognitive behavior therapy intervention for the prevention of depression relative to an attention-matched control intervention delivered to students prior to facing a significant stressor-final secondary school exams. It was hypothesized that delivering a prevention intervention in advance of a stressor would reduce depressive symptoms relative to the control group.

methodsA cluster randomized controlled trial was conducted in 10 government schools in Sydney, Australia. Participants were 540 final year secondary students (mean 16.7 [SD 0.51] years), and clusters at the school level were randomly allocated to SPARX-R or the control intervention. Interventions were delivered weekly in 7 modules, each taking approximately 20 to 30 minutes to complete. The primary outcome was symptoms of depression as measured by the Major Depression Inventory. Intention-to-treat analyses were performed.

resultsCompared to controls, participants in the SPARX-R condition (n=242) showed significantly reduced depression symptoms relative to the control (n=298) at post-intervention (Cohen d=0.29) and 6 months post-baseline (d=0.21) but not at 18 months post-baseline (d=0.33).

conclusionsThis is the first trial to demonstrate a preventive effect on depressive symptoms prior to a significant and universal stressor in adolescents. It demonstrates that an online intervention delivered in advance of a stressful experience can reduce the impact of such an event on the potential development or exacerbation of depression.

trial registrationAustralian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN12614000316606; https://www.anzctr.org.au/Trial/Registration/TrialReview.aspx?id=365986 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/ 6u7ou1aI9).

Indexed as

AdolescentCognitive Behavioral TherapyDepressionFemaleHumansMaleStudentsadolescentdepressiondigital cognitive behavior therapyprevention

Identifiers

PMID29097357
PMCPMC5691241
OpenAlexW2766793869

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.