The Treatment for Adolescents with Depression Study (TADS): Demographic and clinical characteristics

John March, Susan Silva, Stephen Petrycki, John Curry, Karen Wells, John Fairbank, Barbara Burns, Marisa Domino, Steven McNulty, Benedetto Vitiello, Joanne Severe, Charles Casat, Jeanette Kolker, Karyn Riedal, Marguerita Goldman, Norah Feeny, Robert Findling, Sheridan Stull, Nora McNamara, Elizabeth WellerMichele Robins, Ronald Weller, Naushad Jessani, Bruce Waslick, Michael Sweeney, Rachel Kandel, Dena Schoenholz, John Walkup, Golda Ginsburg, Elizabeth Kastelic, Hyung Koo, Christopher Kratochvil, Diane May, Randy LaGrone, Martin Harrington, Anne Marie Albano, Glenn Hirsch, Tracey Knibbs, Emlyn Capili, Mark Reinecke, Bennett Leventhal, Catherine Nageotte, Gregory Rogers, Sanjeev Pathak, Jennifer Wells, Sarah Arszman, Arman Danielyan, Anne Simons, Paul Rohde, James Grimm, Lananh Nguyen, Graham Emslie, Beth Kennard, Carroll Hughes, Maryse Ruberu, David Rosenberg, Nili Benazon, Michael Butkus, Marla Bartoi, Greg Clarke, David Brent, Gary Koch

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

118 Scopus citations

Abstract

Objective: The Treatment for Adolescents With Depression Study is a multicenter, randomized clinical trial sponsored by the NIMH. This study is designed to evaluate the short- and long-term effectiveness of four treatments for adolescents with major depressive disorder: fluoxetine, cognitive-behavioral therapy, their combination, and, acutely, pill placebo. This report describes the demographic and clinical characteristics of the sample and addresses external validity. Method: Participants are 439 adolescents, aged 12-17 years inclusively, with a primary DSM-IV diagnosis of current major depressive disorder. Baseline data are summarized and compared with those from national samples and previous trials. Results: The sample composition is 54.4% girls, 73.8% white, 12.5% African American, and 8.9% Hispanic. The mean Child Depression Rating Scale-Revised total score is 60.1 (SD = 10.4, range 45-98) with 86.0% experiencing their first major depressive episode. The most common concurrent diagnoses are generalized anxiety disorder (15.3%), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (13.7%), oppositional defiant disorder (13.2%), social phobia (10.7%), and dysthymia (10.5%). Demographic results are consistent with data from national samples and large psychopharmacology trials involving depressed adolescents. Conclusions: The Treatment for Adolescents With Depression Study provides a large, diverse, and representative sample of depressed adolescents that highlights the complexity of major depressive disorder in adolescents and provides a rich source for explicating the effects of moderator and mediator variables on baseline psychopathology and treatment outcome.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)28-40
Number of pages13
JournalJournal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
Volume44
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 2005

Keywords

  • Adolescence
  • Controlled trials
  • Depression
  • Phenomenology
  • Randomized
  • Treatment

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Developmental and Educational Psychology
  • Psychiatry and Mental health

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