Given the dramatic increase in depression that occurs during early adolescence in girls, interventions must address the needs of girls. The authors examined whether a depression prevention program, the Penn Resiliency Program, was more effective for girls in all-girls groups than in co-ed groups. Within co-ed groups, the authors also tested whether there were greater effects for boys than for girls. Participants were 20811-to 14-year-olds. Girls were randomly assigned to all-girls groups, co-ed groups, or control. Boys were assigned to co-ed groups or control. Students completed questionnaires on depressive symptoms, hopelessness, and explanatory style before and after the intervention. Girls groups were better than co-ed groups in reducing girls’ hopelessness and for session attendance rates but were similar to co-ed groups in reducing depressive symptoms. Co-ed groups decreased depressive symptoms, but this did not differ by gender. Findings support prevention programs and suggest additional benefits of girls groups.
Abela, J. R. Z.
(2001). The hopelessness theory of depression: A test of the diathesis-stress and causal mediation components in third and seventh grade children. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 29, 241-261.
2.
Allgood-Merten, B.
, Lewinshon, P. M., & Hops, H. (1990). Sex differences and adolescent depression. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 99, 55-63.
3.
Altermatt, E. R.
, Jovanovic, J., & Perry, M. (1998). Bias or responsivity? Sex and achievement level effects on teachers’ classroom questioning practices. Journal of Educational Psychology, 90, 516-527.
4.
Angold, A.
, & Rutter, M. (1992). Effects of age and pubertal status on depression in a large clinical sample. Development and Psychopathology, 4, 5-28.
5.
Bailey, S. M.
(1993). The current status of gender equity research in American schools. Educational Psychologist, 28, 321-339.
6.
Beck, A. T.
(1967). Depression. New York: Harper and Row.
7.
Beck, A. T.
(1976). Cognitive therapy and the emotional disorders. New York: International Universities Press.
8.
Brooks-Gunn, J.
(1998). Antecedents and consequences of variations in girls’ maturational timing. Journal of Adolescent Health Care, 9, 365-373.
9.
Buchholz, E. S.
, & Catton, R. (1999). Adolescents’ perceptions of aloneness and loneliness. Adolescence, 34, 203-214.
10.
Cardemil, E. V.
, Reivich, K. J., & Seligman, M. E. P. (2002). The prevention of depressive symptoms in inner-city middle school students [Electronic version]. Prevention and Treatment, 5, Article 0050008a. Retrieved January 27, 2005, from http://journals.apa.org/prevention/volume5/pre0050008a.html
11.
Clark, M. S.
, & Pataki, S. P. (1995). Interpersonal processes influencing attraction and relationships. In A. Tesser (Ed.), Advanced Social Psychology (pp.283-331). Boston, MA: McGraw Hill.
12.
Clarke, G. N.
, Hawkins, W., Murphy, M., & Sheeber, L. (1993). School-based primary prevention of depressive symptomatology in adolescents: Findings from two studies. Journal of Adolescent Research, 8, 183-204.
13.
Clarke, G. N.
, Hawkins, W., Murphy, M., Sheeber, L. B., Lewinsohn, P. M., & Seeley, J. R. (1995). Targeted prevention of unipolar depressive disorder in an at-risk sample of high school adolescents: A randomized trial of a group cognitive intervention. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 34, 312-321.
14.
Clarke, G. N.
, Hornbrook, M., Lynch, F., Polen, M., Gale, J., Beardslee, W., et al. (2001). A randomized trial of a group cognitive intervention for preventing depression in adolescent off-spring of depressed parents. Archives of General Psychiatry, 58, 1127-1134.
15.
Cohen, J.
(1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (2nd ed.). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
16.
Cohen, P.
, Cohen, J., Kasen, S., Velez, C. N., Hartmark, C., Johnson, J., et al. (1993). An epidemiological study of disorders in late childhood and adolescence-I. Age- and gender-specific prevalence. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 34, 851-867.
17.
Covey, L. S.
, Glassman, A. H., & Stetner, F. (1998). Cigarette smoking and major depression. Journal of Addictive Diseases, 17, 35-46.
18.
Ellis, A.
(1962). Reason and emotion in psychotherapy. New York: Lyle Stuart.
19.
Fergusson, D. M.
, Horwood, J., Ridder, E. M., & Beautrais, A. L. (2005). Subthreshold depression in adolescence and mental health outcomes in adulthood. Archives of General Psychiatry, 62, 66-72.
20.
Freres, D. R.
, Gillham, J. E., Reivich, K., Shatté, A. J., & Seligman, M. E. P. (2002). Preventing depressive symptoms in middle school students: The Penn Resiliency Program. International Journal of Emergency Mental Health, 4(1), 31-40.
21.
Garber, J.
, Quiggle, N. L., & Shanley, N. (1990). Cognition and depression in children and adolescents. In R. E. Ingram(Ed.), Contemporary psychological approaches to depression: Theory, research, and treatment (pp. 87-115). New York: Plenum.
22.
Gillham, J. E.
(1994). Preventing depressive symptoms in school children(Doctoral dissertation, University of Pennsylvania, 1994). Dissertation Abstracts International, 55, 4119.
23.
Gillham, J. E.
, Reivich, K. J., Freres, D. R., Lascher, M., Litzinger, S., Shatté, A., et al. (in press). School-based prevention of depression and anxiety symptoms in early adolescence: A pilot of a parent intervention component. School Psychology Quarterly.
24.
Gillham, J. E.
, Reivich, K. J., Jaycox, L. H., & Seligman, M. E. P. (1995). Preventing depressive symptoms in schoolchildren: Two-year follow-up. Psychological Science, 6, 343-351.
25.
Gillham, J. E.
, Shatté, A. J., & Freres, D. R. (2000). Preventing depression: A review of cognitive-behavioral and family interventions. Applied and Preventive Psychology, 9, 63-88.
26.
Gladstone, T. R. G.
, & Kaslow, N. J. (1995). Depression and attributions in children and adolescents: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 23, 597-606.
27.
Gotlib, I. H.
, Lewinsohn, P. M, & Seeley, J. R. (1995). Symptoms versus a diagnosis of depression: Differences in psychosocial functioning. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 63, 90-100.
28.
Hankin, B. L.
, Abramson, L. Y., Moffitt, T. E., Silva, P. A., McGee, R., & Angell, K. (1998). Development of depression from preadolescence to young adulthood: Emerging gender differences in a 10-year longitudinal study. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 107(1), 128-140.
29.
Hankin, B. L.
, Abramson, L. Y., & Siler, M. (2001). A prospective test of the hopelessness theory of depression in adolescence. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 25(5), 607-632.
30.
Jaycox, L. H.
, Reivich, K. J., Gillham, J., & Seligman, M. E. P. (1994). Preventing depressive symptoms in school children. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 32, 801-816.
31.
Jones, G.
(1989). Genderbias in classroom interactions. Contemporary Education, 60, 216-222.
32.
Kazdin, A. E.
, Rodgers, A., & Colbus, D. (1986). The Hopelessness Scale for Children: Psychometric characteristics and concurrent validity. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 54(2), 241-245.
33.
Kessler, R. C.
, Avenevoli, S., & Merikangas, K. R. (2001). Mood disorders in children and adolescents: An epidemiological perspective. Biological Psychiatry, 49, 1002-1014.
34.
Kovacs, M.
(1992). Children’s Depression Inventory: CDI manual. North Tonowanda, New York: Multi-Health Systems.
35.
Krupnick, C.
(1985). Women and men in the classroom. On teaching and learning, 12, 18-25.
36.
Le, H.
, Munoz, R. F., Ippen, C. G., & Stoddard, J. L. (2003). Treatment is not enough: We must prevent major depression in women [Electronic version]. Prevention and Treatment, 6, Article 0010a. Retrieved October 5, 2005, from http://journals.apa.org/prevention/volume6/pre0060010a.html
37.
Lee, V. E.
, & Bryk, A. S. (1986). Effects of single-sex secondary schools on student achievement and attitudes. Journal of Educational Psychology, 78, 381-395.
38.
Merry, S.
, McDowell, H., Wild, C. J., Bir, J., & Cunliffe, R. (2004). A randomized placebo-controlled trial of a school-based depression prevention program. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 43, 538-547.
39.
Nolen-Hoeksema, S.
, & Girgus, J. S. (1994). The emergence of gender differences in depression during adolescence. Psychological Bulletin, 115, 424-443.
40.
Panak, W. F.
, & Garber, J. (1992). Role of aggression, rejection, and attributions in the prediction of depression in children. Development and Psychopathology, 4, 145-165.
41.
Petersen, A. C.
, Leffert, N., Graham, B., Alwin, J., & Ding, S. (1997). Promoting mental health during the transition into adolescence. In J. Schulenberget al. (Eds.), Health risks and developmental transitions during adolescence (pp. 471-497). New York: Cambridge University Press.
42.
Petersen, A. C.
, Sarigiani, P. A., & Kennedy, R. E. (1991). Adolescent depression: Why more girls?Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 20, 247-271.
43.
Quayle, D.
, Dzuirawiec, S., Roberts, C., Kane, R., Ebsworthy, G. (2001). The effect of an optimism and life skills program on depressive symptoms in preadolescence. Behaviour Change, 18(4), 194-203.
44.
Reivich, K. J. (1996). The prevention of depressive symptoms in adolescents. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.
45.
Reivich, K. J., Gillham, J. E., Jaycox, L., & Seligman, M. E. P. (1996). [Data analysis of gender differences in the Penn Resiliency Program]. Unpublished data.
46.
Rudolph, K. D.
, Hammen, C., Burge, D., Lindberg, N., Herzberg, D., & Daley, S. E. (2000). Toward an interpersonal life-stress model of depression: The developmental context of stress generation. Development and Psychopathology, 12, 215-234.
47.
Seligman, M. E. P.
(1991). Learned optimism. New York: Knopf.
48.
Seligman, M. E. P.
, Peterson, C., Kaslow, N. J., Tanenbaum, R. L., Alloy, L. B., Abramson, L. Y. (1984). Attributional style and depressive symptoms among children. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 93, 235-238.
49.
Slavin, L. A.
, & Rainer, K. (1990). Gender differences in emotional support and depressive symptoms among adolescents: A prospective analysis. American Journal of Community Psychology, 18, 407-421.
50.
Spence, S. H.
, Sheffield, J. K., & Donovan, C. L. (2003). Preventing adolescent depression: An evaluation of the Problem Solving for Life program. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 71(1), 3-13.
51.
Sroufe, L. A.
, Carlson, E. A., Levy, A. K., & Egeland, B. (1999). Implications of attachment theory for developmental psychopathology. Development and Psychopathology, 11(1), 1-13.
52.
Stice, E.
, & Bearman, S. K. (2001). Body-image and eating disturbances prospectively predict increases in depressive symptoms in adolescent girls: A growth-curve analysis. Developmental Psychology, 37, 597-607.
53.
Tabachnick, B. G.
, & Fidell, L. S. (2001). Using multivariate statistics (4th ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
54.
Tharp, R. G.
(1991). Cultural diversity and treatment of children. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 59, 799-812.
55.
Twenge, J. M.
, & Nolen-Hoeksema, S. (2002). Age, gender, race, socioeconomic status, and birth cohort difference on the children’s depression inventory: A meta-analysis. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 111, 578-588.
56.
Watson, C. M.
, Quatman, T., & Edler, E. (2002). Career aspirations of adolescent girls: Effects of achievement level, grade, and single-sex school environment. Sex Roles, 46, 323-335.
57.
Wichstrom, L.
(1999). The emergence of gender difference in depressed mood during adolescence: the role of intensified gender socialization. Developmental Psychology, 35, 232-245.
58.
Yu, D. L.
, & Seligman, M. E. P. (2002). Preventing depressive symptoms in Chinese children [Electronic version]. Prevention and Treatment, 5, Article 0008a. Retrieved January 27, 2005, from http://journals.apa.org/prevention/volume5/pre0050009a.html
