OVERVIEW The Resourceful Adolescent Program is a school-based, eleven-session intervention program aimed at preventing depression in adolescents. Through group treatment aimed at Year 9 adolescents, sessions use a combination of approaches, including cognitive-behavioral therapy and addressing interpersonal risk and protective factors for depression. A parallel program for adults, consisting of three sessions, is also in place to address severe family conflict as a risk factor, as well as the protective factors of warm and responsive parent-adolescent relationships. An evaluation of the program found that there were significant positive impacts on lowering depression immediately following the intervention program. While depression scores remained slightly lower through the 18-month follow-up, the small, continuing positive impacts were only statistically significant according to one of the two measures of depression (Reynolds Adolescent Depression Scale and not the Beck Depression Inventory).

DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAM Target Population: Early to late adolescents The intervention consists of having adolescents participate in eleven weekly group treatment sessions (designed to be composed of 8 to 12 student participants per group), conducted by teachers for 40 to 50 minutes during school class time. Sessions 1 through 7 are based on cognitive-behavioral therapy approaches (including establishing rapport, affirmation of existing strengths, promoting self-management and self-calming skills in the face of stress, cognitive restructuring, and problem solving), while sessions 8 through 10 are focused on addressing interpersonal risk and protective factors in adolescent development (including building and accessing psychological support networks, and interpersonal components designed to promote family harmony and avoid escalation of conflict). Session 11 consists of a summary and termination of the program. During the interpersonal component of the intervention, perspective taking, role transitions during adolescence, and skills for broadening social support and promoting harmony/avoiding conflict are emphasized. Parents also participate in three group-based sessions held at three-week intervals during the eleven-week period of the adolescent program. Each session lasts for three hours and is designed to focus on the risk factor presented by severe family conflict and the promotion of protective factors through warm and responsive parent-adolescent relationships.

Wahl Model 9966 Manual. Specifics of the sessions include identifying existing parental strengths, identifying and managing stress to encourage more effective and calm parenting (session 1), providing information on normal adolescent development, strategies for promoting adolescent self-esteem, balancing issues with attachment and independence (session 2), and providing strategies to manage conflict and promote family harmony (session 3). Each component of the Resourceful Adolescent Program has its own separately priced materials, but for the adolescent and parent programs discussed above, both have group leader’s manuals priced at $68 each and participant workbooks for $15 each. EVALUATION(S) OF PROGRAM Evaluated population: 540 Year 10 and Year 9 (ages 13 and 14) students from two different schools (selected due to the ethnicity of nearly all students being either Pakeha or Maori) in Auckland, New Zealand were recruited for the study, with 392 agreeing to participate and returning written consent forms. To be included in the study, students had to both return the consent form and be able to speak English.