Adolescent Behavior, Depression, Depressive Symptoms
Conditions
Keywords
Adolescents, FMRI, volunteerism
Brief summary
The purpose of the present study is to test in a preliminary manner an innovative strategy for treating depression among adolescents (alongside existing therapy) using community volunteerism.
Detailed description
The purpose of the present study is to test in a preliminary manner an innovative strategy for treating depression among adolescents (alongside existing therapy) using community volunteerism. In addition, this study will test a potential mechanism by which volunteering might decrease depressive symptoms: increasing psychosocial assets, specifically decreasing self-orientation and increasing an orientation toward others. This will be measured through self-report as well as using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). This study will be the first study to explore how neural response patterns are potentially altered by intense experiences with volunteerism among depressed adolescents.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALVolunteer experience
Participants will be assigned to a meaningful volunteer experience from a menu of local options (e.g., volunteering at an animal shelter or in a library) for 30 hours.
Sponsors
Wake Forest University Health Sciences
Study design
Allocation
NA
Intervention model
SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
14 Years to 20 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* age 14-20 * new mild to moderate depression diagnosis (single episode) * new mild to moderate anxiety diagnosis * new adjustment disorder diagnosis * have been in treatment for \< 8 months * right-handed
Exclusion criteria
* history of recurrent depressive, anxiety or adjustment disorder episodes * have been in treatment \> 8 months * left-handed * expressing suicidal ideation * claustrophobia * any contraindications for completing an MRI scan
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Depressive symptoms (Beck Depression Inventory) | 6 months | Beck Depression Inventory to measure depressive symptoms. Each item is rated on a 4-point scale ranging from 0 to 3. The minimum total score is 0 and the maximum total score is 63. Higher scores denote worse outcome |
| Participant recruitment | 6 months | Number of participants screened (reported by clinical mental health providers) |
| Participant retention | 6 months | Number of participants retained in full study |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Beck Hopelessness Inventory | 6 months | Beck Hopelessness Inventory will be used (scored from 1-20; higher score denotes worse outcome). |
| Self-efficacy | 6 months | NIH toolbox measure from 1 (never) to 5 (very often); scores will be averaged and high score indicates more self-efficacy. |
| Empathy | 6 months | IRI (Interpersonal Reactivity Index) subscale to measure empathy on a 5 point scale from 1- strongly disagree to 5 -strongly agree. Scores will be averaged; higher score denotes more empathy. |
| Orientation Toward Others | 6 months | 5 point scale from 1=strongly disagree to 5=strongly agree. Scores will be averaged; higher score denotes more orientation toward others. |
| Strength of Connectivity in DMN (Default Mode Network) | 6 months | Default Mode Network Connectivity will be measured using fMRI at rest and while processing emotional pictures before and after volunteering intervention. The strength of connectivity within the DMN will be calculated by averaging attributes for each node in the DMN. |
| Hope scale (Abler et al., 2017) | 6 months | Hope scale (Abler et al., 2017) will be measured on a scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). Items will be averaged; higher scores denote better outcome (more hope). |
Other
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Experience in Volunteering | 6 months | Measured through the Inventory of Service Experience (Taylor & Pancer, 2007) on a scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). Scores will be averaged for subscales of the measure. Higher score denotes better outcomes (more positive experiences with volunteering). |
Countries
United States
Outcome results
None listed