Effects of aerobic exercise in combination with cognitive therapy on self-reported depression

The present study investigated the additive antidepressant effects of a six-week aerobic exercise program run simultaneously with a Cognitive Therapy manualized treatment based upon the work of Aaron Beck. A single subject design was used. The eleven participants met criteria based on a clinical assessment as well as two measures, (1) The Beck Depression Inventory-II, (2) The Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale. Measures were administered on a weekly basis.; Participants were randomly assigned to a Cognitive Therapy only condition or a Cognitive Therapy plus exercise combination condition. Participants in the Cognitive Therapy only condition met with their respective counselors once a week, and with a member of the research team an additional two times a week for physiological assessment.; Participants in the combination condition also met with their respective counselors once a week, and with a member of the research team an additional two times a week at the Hofstra Recreation Center for the exercise component and physiological assessment.; For some participants in the study, an unstable baseline was noted. For each participant with an unstable baseline a discussion of his or her specific case is reported in the individual participant reviews.; Of the eleven participants seven successfully completed the study. Of these seven, five participants reported decreases in depression symptoms of such magnitude to meet statistical significance on at least on outcome measure. As per the first hypothesis, when exposed to Cognitive Therapy, participants (a) reported fewer depressive symptoms on the Beck Depression Inventory-II by the end of the treatment phase when compared to average baseline, and (b) reported fewer depressive symptoms on the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale by the end of the treatment phase when compared to average baseline.; In contrast with the second hypothesis, when exposed to exercise in combination with concurrent Cognitive Therapy, participants did not report a greater decrease in depressive symptoms than those in the Cognitive Therapy only condition as measured by overall percentage decrease on both the Beck Depression Inventory-II and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale. The trend of percentage change suggested directionality and cumulative magnitude for all participants.