Jane E. Gillham

Positive education: positive psychology and classroom interventions

Positive education is defined as education for both traditional skills and for happiness. The high prevalence worldwide of depression among young people, the small rise in life satisfaction, and the synergy between learning and positive emotion all argue that the skills for happiness should be taught in school. There is substantial evidence from well controlled studies that skills that increase resilience, positive emotion, engagement and meaning can be taught to schoolchildren. We present the story of teaching these skills to an entire school—Geelong Grammar School—in Australia, and we speculate that positive education will form the basis of a ‘new prosperity’, a politics that values both wealth and well‐being.

A meta-analytic review of the Penn Resiliency Program's effect on depressive symptoms.

The purpose of this review was to evaluate whether the Penn Resiliency Program (PRP), a group cognitive-behavioral intervention, is effective in targeting depressive symptoms in youths. We identified 17 controlled evaluations of PRP (N = 2,498) in which depressive symptoms had been measured via an online search of PsycINFO, Medline, ERIC, and ProQuest Dissertations and Theses and by requesting data from PRP researchers. We combined effect sizes (ESs; Glasss d), using random effects models at postintervention and two follow-up assessments (6-8 and 12 months postintervention). PRP participants reported fewer depressive symptoms at postintervention and both follow-up assessments compared with youths receiving no intervention, with ESs ranging from 0.11 to 0.21. Subgroup analyses showed that PRPs effects were significant at 1 or more follow-up assessments among studies with both targeted and universal approaches, when group leaders were research team members and community providers, among participants with both low and elevated baseline symptoms, and among boys and girls. Limited data showed no evidence that PRP is superior to active control conditions. Preliminary analyses suggested that PRPs effects on depressive disorders may be smaller than those reported in a larger meta-analysis of depression prevention programs for older adolescents and adults. We found evidence that PRP significantly reduces depressive symptoms through at least 1-year postintervention. Future PRP research should examine whether PRPs effects on depressive symptoms lead to clinically meaningful benefits for its participants, whether the program is cost-effective, whether CB skills mediate program effects, and whether PRP is effective when delivered under real-world conditions.

School-Based Prevention of Depressive Symptoms: A Randomized Controlled Study of the Effectiveness and Specificity of the Penn Resiliency Program

The authors investigated the effectiveness and specificity of the Penn Resiliency Program (PRP; J. E. Gillham, L. H. Jaycox, K. J. Reivich, M. E. P. Seligman, & T. Silver, 1990), a cognitive-behavioral depression prevention program. Children (N = 697) from 3 middle schools were randomly assigned to PRP, Control (CON), or the Penn Enhancement Program (PEP; K. J. Reivich, 1996; A. J. Shatté, 1997), an alternate intervention that controls for nonspecific intervention ingredients. Childrens depressive symptoms were assessed through 3 years of follow-up. There was no intervention effect on average levels of depressive symptoms in the full sample. Findings varied by school. In 2 schools, PRP significantly reduced depressive symptoms across the follow-up relative to both CON and PEP. In the 3rd school, PRP did not prevent depressive symptoms. The authors discuss the findings in relation to previous research on PRP and the dissemination of prevention programs.

Preventing depression: A review of cognitive-behavioral and family interventions

Abstract Depression is one of the most common psychological disorders. It is associated with tremendous costs in terms of suffering, decrease in productivity, and loss of life. For many individuals, depression is a disorder that will recur throughout life. Recent findings suggest that the prevalence of depression is on the rise, particularly in young people. Clearly, depression prevention is an important goal. Can depression be prevented? In this article we review research on interventions designed to prevent episodes and symptoms of unipolar depression in adults and children. Our review focuses specifically on cognitive-behavioral and family interventions. We discuss what researchers have learned about the prevention of depression and conclude with recommendations for future investigations.

Character strengths predict subjective well-being during adolescence

Previous research indicates that several character strengths (e.g., gratitude, optimism, persistence, and self-regulation) correlate positively with measures of subjective well-being in adolescents. We examined whether character strengths predict future well-being. Adolescent high school students (N = 149) completed the Values in Action Inventory of Strengths for Youth and measures of subjective well-being (depression, happiness, life satisfaction) at several assessments from the fall of 9th grade through the spring of their 10th grade year. In analyses controlling for the effects of other strengths, other-directed strengths (e.g., kindness, teamwork) predicted fewer symptoms of depression. Transcendence strengths (e.g., meaning, love) predicted greater life satisfaction. Social support partially mediated the relationship between strengths and depression, but did not mediate the relationship between strengths and life satisfaction. These findings indicate that strengths that build connections to people and purposes larger than the self predict future well-being.

Cultivating Optimism in Childhood and Adolescence

How do optimism and hope develop in young people? How can they be promoted? This article reviews research on the development of optimism and hope and interventions designed to build these qualities in youth. The Penn Resiliency Program is discussed as an example of a school-based intervention that may promote hope and prevent symptoms of depression and anxiety. Limits of existing studies and directions for future research are also discussed.

Toward a Developmental Operational Definition of Autism

Traditional approaches to diagnosing autism emphasize delays in communication and socialization. Traditional diagnostic schemes typically list symptoms (e.g., lack of eye contact), but provide little guidance on how to incorporate information about developmental level in making a diagnosis. Because standardized measures of adaptive behavior can provide information about childrens communication, socialization, and other behavior relative to their age, they may be useful tools for diagnosing autism. This study investigated the ability of the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales to identify children with autism. Vineland scores and measures of intellectual functioning were obtained for children with autism, PDDNOS, and other developmental disorders (DD). Discriminant function analyses indicated that the autism and combined nonautism (PDDNOS and DD) groups could be differentiated on the basis of socialization, daily living skills, and serious maladaptive behaviors. Socialization alone accounted for 48% of the variance in diagnosis. Using regression analyses derived from a large normative sample, adaptive behavior scores were predicted from chronological age (CA) and mental age (MA). Socialization scores in the autism group were substantially below the level predicted from CA or MA. An index derived from the ratio of actual to predicted socialization scores correctly classified 86% of both autism and nonautism cases. Findings suggest that comparison of obtained Vineland socialization scores to those predicted by CA or MA may be useful in clarifying the diagnosis of autism.

Prevention of Depressive Symptoms in Schoolchildren: A Research Update

Recent research suggests that cognitive vulnerabilities implicated in adult depression are relevant to depression in children, at least by middle childhood. For example, a pessimistic explanatory style is associated with depressive symptoms in children and has been found to predict depressive symptoms in some studies (for reviews, see Gladstone & Kaslow, 1995; Joiner & Wagner, 1995). Intervention programs that target these cognitive vulnerabilities are effective in treating and preventing depression symptoms and episodes (Clarke et al., 1995; Gillham, Reivich, Jaycox, & Seligman, 1995; Lewinsohn, Clarke, & Rohde, 1994). Clarke and colleagues found a prevention effect that lasted through 12 months of follow-up. Little is known about the even longer-term benefits of such programs. Do children who participate in these programs continue to benefit throughout their school years, or do the effects dissolve with time? In 1995, we reported long-term follow-up results of a school-based program designed to prevent depressive symptoms (Gillham et al., 1995). In this study, 69 fifth and sixth graders who participated in the prevention group were compared with a control group of 49 children. The children completed an assessment battery that included the Children’s Depression Inventory (CDI; Kovacs, 1985) and the Children’s Attributional Style Questionnaire (CASQ; Kaslow, Tannenbaum, & Seligman, 1978) before the program, following the program, and every 6 months thereafter for 2 years. The prevention group reported significantly fewer depressive symptoms throughout the 2-year follow-up period. Children in the prevention group were also less likely to report moderate to severe symptoms. Explanatory-style scores became more optimistic in the prevention group, and there was evidence that improvements in explanatory style, in part, mediated the program’s effect on depressive symptoms. We have since completed our final follow-up. Sixty-nine of these children (37 from the prevention group and 32 from the control group) completed questionnaires 2 1/2 years after the program, and 67 children (40 from the prevention group and 27 from the control group) completed questionnaires at the 3-year follow-up. To examine the possibility of differential attrition, we ran a series of analyses comparing prevention- and control-group children who left the study on demographic variables and questionnaire scores obtained at baseline. No significant differences were found. Our results indicate the prevention program’s effect on explanatory

Depression Prevention for Early Adolescent Girls: A Pilot Study of All Girls Versus Co-Ed Groups.

Given the dramatic increase in depression that occurs during early adolescence in girls, interventions must address the needs of girls. The authors examined whether a depression prevention program, the Penn Resiliency Program, was more effective for girls in all-girls groups than in co-ed groups. Within co-ed groups, the authors also tested whether there were greater effects for boys than for girls. Participants were 20811-to 14-year-olds. Girls were randomly assigned to all-girls groups, co-ed groups, or control. Boys were assigned to co-ed groups or control. Students completed questionnaires on depressive symptoms, hopelessness, and explanatory style before and after the intervention. Girls groups were better than co-ed groups in reducing girls’ hopelessness and for session attendance rates but were similar to co-ed groups in reducing depressive symptoms. Co-ed groups decreased depressive symptoms, but this did not differ by gender. Findings support prevention programs and suggest additional benefits of girls groups.

From Helplessness to Optimism: The Role of Resilience in Treating and Preventing Depression in Youth

Some of the most common psychological disorders in children and adolescents are internalizing disorders such as depression and anxiety. Research on the development of depression and anxiety suggests that internalizing disorders can be reduced, even prevented, by promoting more accurate cognitive styles, problem-solving skills, and supportive family relationships. Several cognitive–behavioral interventions have shown promise in treating and preventing depression and anxiety. We review the Penn Resiliency Program (PRP) as an example of such an intervention. We suggest that most of the skills covered in the PRP and similar preventive interventions are not specific to depression or anxiety and can be useful for increasing young people’s resiliency more generally. Interventions that teach and reinforce these skills can help children to navigate a variety of difficult situations they are likely to encounter during adolescence and adulthood.