Volunteering as an Intervention to Reduce Depression Among Adolescents

Wake Forest University Health Sciences9 enrolled

Overview

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.

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.

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Enrollment

Conditions

Depression Adolescent Behavior Depressive Symptoms

Interventions

Volunteer experienceBEHAVIORAL

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.

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 14 YearsMax age: 20 Years

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

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

Locations (3)

Trinity Center, Inc

Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States

TriCare, PA

Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States

Private practice

Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Participant recruitment

Number of participants screened (reported by clinical mental health providers)

Time frame: 6 months

Participant retention

Number of participants retained in full study

Time frame: 6 months

Depressive symptoms (Beck Depression Inventory)

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

Time frame: 6 months

Secondary Outcomes

Strength of Connectivity in DMN (Default Mode Network)

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.

Time frame: 6 months

Hope scale (Abler et al., 2017)

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).

Time frame: 6 months

Beck Hopelessness Inventory

Beck Hopelessness Inventory will be used (scored from 1-20; higher score denotes worse outcome).

Time frame: 6 months

Self-efficacy

NIH toolbox measure from 1 (never) to 5 (very often); scores will be averaged and high score indicates more self-efficacy.

Data from ClinicalTrials.gov

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