Evaluation of a teaching package designed to improve teachers' recognition of depressed pupils—a pilot study

doi:10.1006/jado.2000.0318

Journal of Adolescence

Volume 23, Issue 3, June 2000, Pages 331-342

https://doi.org/10.1006/jado.2000.0318 Get rights and content

Abstract

This pilot study evaluated the impact of a teaching package for school staff on their ability to recognize depressed pupils within a year group in their school. Sixteen teachers were tested before and after training on their ability to identify depressed pupils in that year. The pupils were screened using a 2-stage procedure to determine caseness for Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). After training, teachers felt more confidant about their ability to recognize depressed pupils but this was not able to be statistically verified because of small teachers numbers. This suggests a promising way forward in recognizing depression in the community.

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Citation Excerpt :
Community epidemiological surveys have shown a prevalence of MDD of 0.4–8.3% (Birmaher et al., 1996; Fleming & Offord, 1990; Kashani et al., 1987; Lewinsohn, Clarke, Seeley, & Rohde, 1994; McGee et al., 1990). However, most of these depressed teenagers are not known to their General Practitioners (GPs) or mental health services (Cooper & Goodyer, 1993; Goodyer & Cooper, 1993; Moor et al., 2000). Although GPs can provide a mental health service to adolescents and refer appropriately, adolescents are reluctant to consult them.
This study evaluated the effectiveness of a schools-based psychoeducational intervention designed to help teachers recognize the symptoms of clinical depression in their adolescent pupils. Around 151 teachers in eight high schools in Scotland, UK were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups and all received training on depression. The ability of the experimental teachers to report which pupils were depressed was compared with the control group whose reporting task occurred before they had received training. The teachers were reporting on 2262 pupils who had been independently screened for clinical depression using a two-stage screening procedure with the Mood and Feelings Questionnaire (MFQ) and semi-structured clinical interview (K-SADS). Systematic evaluation showed that training teachers with this package did not improve their ability to recognize their depressed pupils. Recognizing depressive illness in adolescence is one of the main public health challenges for adolescent mental health services and this study adds to the growing literature on the difficulties in achieving this.
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^f1: Reprint requests and correspondence should be addressed to: Stephanie Moor, 76, Garden Road, Fendalton, Christchurch, New Zealand. Deceased

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Regular ArticleEvaluation of a teaching package designed to improve teachers' recognition of depressed pupils—a pilot study

Abstract

Journal of American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

Journal of Adolescence

Journal of American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

Journal American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

Journal of American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

Journal of American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

Journal of Adolescence

Schedule for affective disorders and schizophrenia in school age children. (6–18) KIDDIESADS.

Alcohol education for 13 year olds—does it work? Results from a controlled evaluation

British Journal of Addiction

Sex differences in the manifestations of depression in young people. A study of French high school students. Part I: Prevalence and clinical data

European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

Gender differences in the expression of depressive symptoms in middle adolescents: An extension of earlier findings

Adolescence

Deprivation and Health in Scotland

Methodological issues in outcome studies of school-based interventions for the prevention of adolescent depression

School Psychology Quarterly

A community study of depression in adolescent girls: I. Estimates of symptoms and syndrome prevalence

British Journal of Psychiatry

Depression among adolescents in Northern Ireland

Adolescence

Regular Article
Evaluation of a teaching package designed to improve teachers' recognition of depressed pupils—a pilot study