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<\/p>\nFor decades, researchers have developed and tested adolescent depression prevention programs that show strong results.<\/p>\n
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But a new study<\/a> reveals a major flaw in the evidence base: These programs, largely tested on white youth, may not work equally well for everyone.<\/p>\n The peer-reviewed study examined the effects of a culturally adapted school-based depression prevention program called LARS&LISA<\/a>. The results were stark: While the program led to a measurable decrease in depressive symptoms for white students, it had no significant effect for Black students, despite serving the same school population and incorporating student-informed changes.<\/p>\n \t\tAdvertisement \t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t \t\t<\/a><\/p>\n \t\t<\/p>\n Keep Up with the GGSC Happiness Calendar<\/p>\n Put in the work for your relationships this month<\/p>\n \t\t<\/a><\/p>\n The study\u2019s coauthors, Hayley Seely and Patrick P\u00f6ssel, both researchers from the University of Louisville, say the findings not only reflect a gap in the intervention\u2014they expose a deeper issue: The entire theoretical foundation of youth depression prevention may be built on limited, racially homogenous data.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s my program,\u201d said P\u00f6ssel, who developed LARS&LISA more than 25 years ago. \u201cSo you feel really personally hurt when you go, \u2018Oh my God, that\u2019s not working. What did I do for 25 years?\u2019 But after some time, I started thinking, maybe it\u2019s not the program. Maybe it\u2019s the theories we\u2019ve built the program on.\u201d<\/p>\n A prevention program under scrutiny<\/p>\n The study took place at a Title I high school in Louisville, Kentucky, where most students come from low-income backgrounds. The school\u2019s ninth-grade students were randomized into two groups: One received the LARS&LISA prevention program during their physical education classes; the other did not. Of the 425 students included in the final analysis, 57% identified as Black and 43% as white.<\/p>\n Originally developed in Germany, LARS&LISA is grounded in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and self-management therapy, aiming to help teens develop realistic thinking, communication skills, and healthy social relationships. Previous research had found it effective across a range of outcomes, including reducing symptoms of depression and aggression.<\/p>\n But when Seely and P\u00f6ssel looked at the data by race, the results revealed that white students improved and Black students did not. The program significantly reduced depressive symptoms in white teens both immediately and at a four-month follow-up. In contrast, there was no statistical difference between Black students who received the intervention and those who did not.<\/p>\n The findings echoed earlier research from a 2002 primary study<\/a> and long-term findings in 2007<\/a> by psychologist and researcher Esteban V. Cardemil, who found that his culturally adapted CBT program was effective for Latino youth but failed to produce similar benefits for Black youth.<\/p>\n Theories built for one group<\/p>\n After the initial surprise and disappointment, the researchers began asking new questions\u2014not just about the program, but about the entire framework behind depression prevention in youth.<\/p>\n \u201cWe base our interventions on psychological theories of depression,\u201d P\u00f6ssel explained. \u201cBut who are those theories tested on? White, middle-class, college students\u2014mostly women. So when we try to apply those models to other groups, it\u2019s no surprise they don\u2019t hold up.\u201d<\/p>\n
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