Exercise as an Adjunct in the Treatment of Adolescent Depression. Issue 3 (2nd October 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Radovic, Sara; Melvin, Glenn Alexander; Gordon, Michael Solomon
• Is Part Of: Evidence-based practice in child and adolescent mental health. Volume 2:Issue 3/4(2017)
• Page Start: 139
• Page End: 149
• Publication Date: 2017-10-02
• Subjects: Child psychiatry -- Periodicals; Child mental health -- Periodicals; Teenagers -- Mental health -- Periodicals; Child psychology -- Periodicals; Adolescent psychology -- Periodicals; 618.9289
• DOI: 10.1080/23794925.2017.1362328
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2379-4925

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Little attention has been devoted to examining the role of exercise in the reduction of depressive symptoms among adolescents with depressive disorders, and the majority of studies examining the efficacy of exercise have been conducted in group and supervised settings. Due to limitations surrounding the clinical utility of group exercise interventions, this pilot study aimed to explore the feasibility and effectiveness of a self-directed, individual exercise intervention among depressed adolescents. Adolescents with diagnoses of major depressive disorder (MDD; n = 9) completed a 4-week exercise intervention as an adjunct to treatment as usual. A multiple baseline design was utilized. A moderate significant reduction in depressive symptoms was found at postintervention, z ( N = 9) = –2.67, p = .008, r 2 = .40, with no difference in depressive symptoms found throughout the 2-week baseline period. The intervention had a high level of participant satisfaction, low attrition rate, and moderate level of exercise adherence. Factors relating to the feasibility of the intervention were explored.