Predictors and moderators of acute outcome in the Treatment for Adolescents with Depression Study (TADS)

John Curry, Paul Rohde, Anne Simons, Susan Silva, Benedetto Vitiello, Christopher Kratochvil, Mark Reinecke, Norah Feeny, Karen Wells, Sanjeev Pathak, Elizabeth Weller, David Rosenberg, Betsy Kennard, Michele Robins, Golda Ginsburg, John March

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

354 Scopus citations

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To identify predictors and moderators of response to acute treatments among depressed adolescents (N = 439) randomly assigned to fluoxetine, cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), both fluoxetine and CBT, or clinical management with pill placebo in the Treatment for Adolescents With Depression Study (TADS). METHOD: Potential baseline predictors and moderators were identified by a literature review. The outcome measure was a week 12 predicted score derived from the Children's Depression Rating Scale-Revised (CDRS-R). For each candidate moderator or predictor, a general linear model was conducted to examine main and interactive effects of treatment and the candidate variable on the CDRS-R predicted scores. RESULTS: Adolescents who were younger, less chronically depressed, higher functioning, and less hopeless with less suicidal ideation, fewer melancholic features or comorbid diagnoses, and greater expectations for improvement were more likely to benefit acutely than their counterparts. Combined treatment, under no condition less effective than monotherapy, was more effective than fluoxetine for mild to moderate depression and for depression with high levels of cognitive distortion, but not for severe depression or depression with low levels of cognitive distortion. Adolescents from high-income families were as likely to benefit from CBT alone as from combined treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Younger and less severely impaired adolescents are likely to respond better to acute treatment than older, more impaired, or multiply comorbid adolescents. Family income level, cognitive distortions, and severity of depression may help clinicians to choose among acute interventions, but combined treatment proved robust in the presence of moderators. Copyright 2006

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1427-1439
Number of pages13
JournalJournal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
Volume45
Issue number12
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 2006

Keywords

  • Cognitive-behavioral therapy
  • Fluoxetine
  • Major depression
  • Moderators
  • Predictors

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Developmental and Educational Psychology
  • Psychiatry and Mental health

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Predictors and moderators of acute outcome in the Treatment for Adolescents with Depression Study (TADS)'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this