This article reports on the effectiveness of an early intervention program,
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was assessed in a short-term wait-list control trial. In 1999, 882 students
(aged 13-16 years) were screened using the Children's Depression Inventory
(CDI). One hundred and seventy-nine students (63% female) who scored above the
CDI cutoff (of 18) were offered the program and 143 (65% female) agreed to
participate. On a school basis, participants were allocated to the intervention
group (n= 76; 56% female) who commenced the program within one month, or to a wait-list
control condition (control group, n= 50; 79% female) who commenced the ACE program after 10 weeks. Data analysis
was conducted for 82 female participants. All students completed the CDI,
Adolescent Coping Scale and Children's Automatic Thoughts Scale at pre-And
post-intervention. The intervention group alsocompleted a 6-month follow-up. At post-intervention, female ACE participants
reported significantly reduced depressive symptoms and significantly improved
coping skills compared with the control group. Using cognitive-behavioural and
interpersonal techniques, the ACE program diminished depressive symptoms and
increased coping skills in girls screening at-risk for depression.
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