Reducing Symptoms of Depression in Low-Income Mothers

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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This study will test the effectiveness of a short-term intervention in treating depressed young mothers with young children enrolled in Early Head Start Programs.

Detailed Description
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Limited resources, poor social support, and complex life problems contribute to the high prevalence and severity of depressive symptoms in low-income mothers. As depressive symptoms persist, they often rob young mothers of the energy they need for school, job training, and positive interaction with their children, which can negatively affect a child's language acquisition, intellectual development, and social conduct. This study will design and implement a home-based treatment to help young mothers manage their depressive symptoms, increase their social support, manage or resolve life issues, and effectively parent their infant or toddler through the use of EHS resources. Mothers will be randomly assigned to receive either home-based interpersonal depression treatment or an attention control/usual care condition for 26 weeks. Assessments will be made at study start and Weeks 14, 22, and 26. Depression scales, interviews, and analyses of videotaped mother-child interactions will be used to assess participants. Stress, social support, and use of EHS services will be assessed.

Official Title
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Reducing Depressive Symptoms in Low-Income Mothers

Conditions
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Depression

Intervention / Treatment
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* Behavioral: Modified Interpersonal Therapy
* Behavioral: Attention control/usual care


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: Score of 16 or higher on the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression (CES-D) Scale Child who is 6 weeks to 30 months old Child who is enrolled in an Early Head Start program Exclusion Criteria: Regular use of psychotropic medication Regular use of psychotherapy or drug/alcohol treatment

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 15 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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Female

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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No

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Treatment
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: 1<br>Participants will receive home-based interpersonal depression treatment for 26 weeks | Behavioral: Modified Interpersonal Therapy<br>* Psychiatric mental health nurses will meet with participants 10 times, an hour each time, over a period of 14 weeks. The nurses will continue to work with the mothers over the next 8 weeks by phone, conducting 5 fifteen minute phone sessions.<br>|
| Active Comparator: 2<br>Participants will receive attention control/usual care for 26 weeks | Behavioral: Attention control/usual care<br>* Participants will receive the usual care for depression.<br>|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Level of depressive symptoms |  | Measured at Week 26 | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Mother child interactions |  | Measured at Week 26 | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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Early Head Start Program