Poor, minority mothers benefit from depression treatment
Faced with the twin demands of motherhood and poverty, as many as a quarter of low-income minority mothers struggling platform with major depression. But the stigma of mental illness coupled with limited platform access to quality treatment prevents the majority of these struggling women from receiving help.
Now a new study shows that screening for the disease and provide short-term, relationship-focused therapy through weekly home visits can ease depression among minority mothers, even in the face of poverty and personal stories of abuse or violence. Such assistance far can have great benefits not only for mothers, but also for their children, say the authors.
"It's platform amazing, really," says psychologist platform Sheree Toth, lead author and executive director of the University platform of Rochester, Mt. Hope Family Center. "This research tracked a 14-week intervention for mothers who are terribly overwhelmed, surrounded by high crime areas, who lack social support, platform and often traumatized - my fear was," This will never work. '"
But to the surprise of Toth and her Rochester team, the series of convenient, one-hour therapy sessions relieved depression in participants much better than regular clinic-based care. The study participants also continued to grow eight months after completion of treatment, regain a sense of hope and control over their lives and report feeling more connected to and supported by others.
For example, if the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), a widely used questionnaire in which a score of 19 or higher indicates depression, platform saw the women in the study group, their depressive symptoms decreased from an average of 27 at the start of therapy to 9.6 eight months after the program completed. In contrast, women who received outpatient clinically depressed, with a mean BDI score of 21 at follow-up.
Results, says Toth, pointing to the need for screening high-risk populations. None of these women seek treatment, but were identified instead platform by a questionnaire and an interview at doctors' platform offices and clinics for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) subsidized nutrition programs. Toth says: "When I go to the doctor, they ask me if I use my seatbelt Why can not we ask questions about depression when we know that the risk of being hit by a car is far less than the risk of suffering. depression? People suffer needlessly. "
Published online in development and psychopathology, the results are good news for mothers and their children. "Extensive research has shown that children whose primary caregivers are depressed often begin life on the wrong foot," explains Toth. "They may fail to develop secure attachments, set them up for a cascade of problems, from behavioral problems in childhood and school failure to participate in the juvenile justice system and serious psychological problems platform down the road." Despite the widespread prevalence of depression among minority mothers researchers have overlooked a large extent this vulnerable population. "In platform fact, including studies that formed the empirical basis for the American Psychiatric Association guidelines for depression treatment 3,860 participants, with only 27 identified as American, and no being of Latina descent," the authors write.
To correct this imbalance, the researchers tracked 128 low-income earners mothers of one year olds, 60 percent of them were black, 20 percent Hispanic and 20 percent Caucasian. Besides poverty, facing the vast majority platform of these mothers extensive challenges in life. All but 6 percent had been depressed for more than a year, 87 percent reported histories of child abuse, 30 percent had been raped or sexually abused by a relative, and 27 percent suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder.
The study tested the effectiveness of interpersonal psychotherapy, a transient depression treatment that has worked with more advantaged populations. "A big part of this strategy is to instill hope," says Robin Sturm, a co-author of family therapists who worked on the study. She and other therapists only help customers realize that emotions, such as a lack of energy or motivation, are symptoms of depression is not a sign of laziness or other flaws in character. "If they can differ from the symptoms, it helps them see that they can get better," said Sturm.
The main part of the intervention, then focuses on identifying and facilitating one or two important problems with relationships in clients' lives. This could overcome the loss of a loved one, reconnecting with a family member, or learn to resolve conflicts with a partner. Using a variety of tools ranging from MMORPGs to analyze arguments, participants practice more efficient
