NCJ Number
212831
Journal
Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Volume: 45 Issue: 2 Dated: February 2006 Pages: 158-165
Date Published
February 2006
Length
8 pages
Annotation
This study assessed the hypothesis that the Depression Experience Journal (EJ), an electronic psychoeducational intervention for families facing childhood depression, would be safe, feasible, and useful to primary caregivers.
Abstract
The findings suggest that computer-based interventions have significant promise for providing psychosocial support to families dealing with child and adolescent psychiatric illnesses. Future research should continue to focus on the effects of writing one’s own narrative in the context of a Web-based intervention. Results revealed support for the hypothesis; statistical analyses of caretakers responses indicated high satisfaction ratings and low ratings of harmfulness for the Depression EJ. Almost 80 percent of caretakers reported that the Depression EJ impacted their thoughts or feelings about their child’s depression and decreased their sense of social isolation. Participants were 38 primary caretakers who were recruited from the Children’s Hospital of Boston where their children were psychiatrically hospitalized for depression. Methodology involved 30-minute semistructured interviews with the caretakers both before, and 2 to 4 weeks following, their use of the Depression EJ. The Depression EJ offers a computer-based context for the sharing of personal stories about childhood depression. The first interview assessed the families’ experiences with their child’s depression while the second interview focused on rating the Depression EJ and caretakers’ level of depression using a Likert scale. Tables, references