Changes in depression, anxiety and hopelessness symptoms during family- and community-oriented intervention for help-seeking adolescents and adolescents at risk of psychosis

Abstract

Background: Little is known about how symptoms are changed in adolescents who receive treatment in an early detection and intervention service. Aims: The aims of the present research were to study change in depression, anxiety and hopelessness symptoms in a sample of help-seeking adolescents who participated in a community- and family-oriented early intervention programme. Methods: The data was collected in Helsinki University Central Hospital (HUCH), Finland, by the JERI (Jorvi Early psychosis Recognition and Intervention) early intervention team; 85 help-seeking adolescents filled questionnaires of anxiety (Beck Anxiety Inventory), depression (Beck Depression Inventory II) and hopelessness (Beck Hopelessness Scale). The PROD screen was used to assess risk of psychosis. Results: Paired samples t-test of anxiety, depression and hopelessness showed statistically significant improvement on all scales (P < 0.001) in all participants (n = 85) between baseline and the end of intervention. Improvement was significant on scales of anxiety (P = 0.004), depression (P < 0.001) and hopelessness (P < 0.001) for participants at risk of psychosis (n = 34). Effect sizes were from medium to large for changes. After the treatment, of all participants, 68.8% were at a remission level of symptoms in anxiety, 84.7% in symptoms of depression and 88.2% in symptoms of hopelessness. Of sub-group of participants at risk of psychosis, 58.8% were at a remission level of symptoms in anxiety, 76.4% in symptoms of depression and 79.4% in symptoms of hopelessness. Conclusions: Present results suggest that there is both statistically and clinically remarkable improvement in anxiety, depression and hopelessness symptoms after the intervention. These findings should be considered in the psychiatric care of help-seeking adolescents and adolescents at risk of psychosis.

• Adolescents
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Hopelessness
• Risk of psychosis

Acknowledgements

We would like to acknowledge the adolescents who took part in the JERI project. We would like to thank all community co-workers we worked with during this study. We would also like to thank all those team members of JERI project who helped in data collection.

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.