Brief interpersonal psychotherapy for depressed mothers whose children are receiving psychiatric treatment.

Full Abstract

OBJECTIVE:
Depressed mothers of children with psychiatric illness struggle with both their own psychiatric disorder and the demands of caring for ill children. When maternal depression remains untreated, mothers suffer, and psychiatric illness in their offspring is less likely to improve. This randomized, controlled trial compared the interpersonal psychotherapy for depressed mothers (IPT-MOMS), a nine-session intervention based on standard interpersonal psychotherapy, to treatment as usual for depressed mothers with psychiatrically ill offspring.

METHOD:
Forty-seven mothers meeting DSM-IV criteria for major depression were recruited from a pediatric mental health clinic where their school-age children were receiving psychiatric treatment and randomly assigned to IPT-MOMS (N=26) or treatment as usual (N=21). Mother-child pairs were assessed at three time points:
baseline, 3-month follow-up, and 9-month follow-up. Child treatment was not determined by the study.

RESULTS:
Compared to subjects assigned to treatment as usual, subjects assigned to IPT-MOMS showed significantly lower levels of depression symptoms, as measured by the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, and higher levels of functioning, as measured by the Global Assessment of Functioning, at 3-month and 9-month follow-ups. Compared to the offspring of mothers receiving treatment as usual, the offspring of mothers assigned to IPT-MOMS showed significantly lower levels of depression as measured by the Children's Depressive Inventory at the 9-month follow-up.

CONCLUSIONS:
Assignment to IPT-MOMS was associated with reduced levels of maternal symptoms and improved functioning at the 3- and 9-month follow-ups compared to treatment as usual. Maternal improvement preceded improvement in offspring, suggesting that maternal changes may mediate child outcomes.

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Author information

Author/s: Swartz, Holly A (HA); Frank, Ellen (E); Zuckoff, Allan (A); Cyranowski, Jill M (JM); Houck, Patricia R (PR); Cheng, Yu (Y); Fleming, M A Dana (MA); Grote, Nancy K (NK); Brent, David A (DA); Shear, M Katherine (MK);

Affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, USA. swartzha(-atsign-)upmc.edu

Grants: K23 MH-64518 (Agency:United States NIMH)

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Randomized Controlled Trial; Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

Journal: The American journal of psychiatry (Am J Psychiatry), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2008-Sep; vol 165 (issue 9) : pp 1155-62

Dates: Created 2008/09/03; Completed 2008/10/03;

PMID: 18558645, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 11/6/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

Comments and Corrections

CommentIn: Am J Psychiatry. 2008 Sep;165(9):1083-5. (PMID: 18765485)

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Adult
Child
Child of Impaired Parents - psychology; statistics & numerical data
Depressive Disorder, Major - diagnosis; psychology; therapy
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
Female
Follow-Up Studies
Humans
Interpersonal Relations

Interpersonal Relations
Mental Disorders - epidemiology; psychology; therapy
Mental Health Services - utilization
Mothers - psychology
Psychiatry - methods
Psychotherapy, Brief - methods
Psychotherapy, Group - methods
Severity of Illness Index
Treatment Outcome

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