Systematic ReviewEfficacy and Acceptability of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Depression in Children: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

BackgroundFew meta-analyses have focused on the effect of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for depression in children.Study SelectionRandomized controlled trials comparing CBT with control conditions for depression in children (≤13 years old) were included.Data SourcesSeven electronic databases (PubMed, Embase, CENTRAL, Web of Science, PsycINFO, CINAHL, and LiLACS) were searched from inception to September 2015.Data Extraction and SynthesisThe primary efficacy was defined as mean change scores in depressive symptoms, and the second efficacy (remission) was a score below the threshold for a diagnosis of depression, both after treatment and at the end of follow-up. We also measured acceptability by the proportion of participants who discontinued treatment up to posttreatment.ResultsNine studies with 306 participants were selected for this analysis. At posttreatment, CBT was significantly more effective than control conditions in terms of primary efficacy (standardized mean difference, −0.41; 95% confidence interval [CI], −0.64 to −0.18) and secondary efficacy (odds ratio [OR], 2.16; 95% CI, 1.24 to 3.78). At follow-up, the results were consistent with those of efficacy outcomes at posttreatment, with a standardized mean difference of −0.34 and an OR of 2.04. CBT had no statistical more all-cause discontinuations than the control group (OR, 0.69; 95% CI, 0.26 to 1.82). However, subgroup analyses found that CBT was only significantly more effective than nontreatment, while it was not better than wait list or psychological placebo.ConclusionsCBT seems to be more beneficial in the treatment of depression in children than nontreatment; however, this finding is limited by the small size of the trials and low literature quality.