A comparison of three approaches to reduce marital problems and symptoms of depression (China)

This study evaluated the effectiveness of three treatment groups provided for depressed patients in Military Kaohsiung General Hospital (MKGH) in Taiwan. The three treatment groups were (a) antidepressants medication (AM) alone, (b) Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) group alone, and (c) the combined treatment of the two (AM + SFBT). Thirty-nine participants composed the sample. Psychiatrists working in MKGH and other psychiatry departments in several general hospitals referred these subjects to the researcher. They had diagnosed these patients as having affective disorder(s) such as minor depression, major depression, and dysthymia.; The purpose of this study was to determine whether there were any differences among participants of the three treatment groups (AM only, SFBT only, AM and SFBT) in reducing depression symptoms, stopping the dissolution of marital status, improvement in dyadic adjustment, or reduction of conflict tactics after eight weeks of treatment.; This study was a quasi-experimental design with a pretest/posttest. A self-report questionnaire included (a) a demographic questionnaire, (b) the Chinese version of the Beck Depression Inventory, (c) the Chinese version of the Dyadic Adjustment Scale, (d) the Chinese version of the Conflict Tactics Scale, (e) the Chinese version of the Marital Status Inventory; and (f) the SFBT scaling questions.; Analyses of covariance (ANCOVA) were conducted, with posttest scores as the dependent variables and pretest scores as the covariant. Significant differences were found among the three groups in terms of reduced depression symptoms. Results of post hoc analyses indicated that the SFBT group was more effective than the AM group. However, there were no differences either between the AM group and the AM + SFBT group or between the SFBT group and the AM + SFBT group. There were no significant differences among the three groups in terms of stopping the dissolution of marital status, improving dyadic adjustment, or reducing spouse abuse. A dependent sample t-test was used to examine the differences between pretest and posttest scores in each variable for every group. Significant differences indicated treatment effects were found in the BDI of both the SFBT group and the combined group. Scaling scores of each group also decreased significantly in the posttest.