Effectiveness of Interpersonal Psychotherapy for Adolescent Depression: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Abstract

 IPT focuses on solving current relationship problems and tries to help individuals change their maladaptive patterns of interaction. This review was designed to evaluate RCTs of the efficiency of IPT in adolescents with depression in the last 25 years. Methods: A comprehensive search of a pertinent database (PubMed) was carried out. Studies examining the effectiveness of IPT on depressive symptoms in individuals aged 7 to 18 were included. The findings were synthesized through a narrative overview and meta-analysis approach. Results：10 studies meeting the inclusion criteria were analyzed. The meta-analysis revealed a significant improvement in participants’ depressive symptoms following IPT intervention (SMD: -0.42, 95% CI: -0.65 to -0.19). Subgroup analysis confirmed sustained noticeable results for IPT based on the 6-month follow-up data (SMD: -0.29, 95% CI: -0.46 to -0.13), while no statistical significance was noted at the 12-month follow-up (SMD: -0.04, 95% CI: -0.31 to -0.22). Additionally, IPT-A (SMD: -0.46, 95% CI: -0.83 to -0.10) demonstrated similar efficacy to IPT-AST (SMD: -0.26, 95% CI: -0.43 to -0.09) in reducing depressive symptoms. Different assessment scales influenced the treatment effect assessment, with results indicating a lower treatment effect with the CES-D scale (SMD: -0.26, 95% CI: -0.43 to -0.09), in comparison with other scales (SMD: -0.70, 95% CI: -1.34 to -0.06). Conclusion: This study evaluated the evidence on the effectiveness of IPT in as a treatment protocol for youth depression before and after treatment, and during a 6-month follow-up period. The outcomes suggest that IPT is effective in curing depression in teens, consistent with multiple previous studies