The use of self monitored activity schedules in the treatment of depression

Abstract

Forty depressed subjects were selected from four different outpatient settings and were assigned to various treatment groups. The purpose of the study was to design and test a self monitored behavioral treatment program for mild depression. The study further attempted to test three different activity schedules that varied in terms of the outcome of each engaged activity. The four treatment groups included a passive control group, a continuous positive/intermittent (positive, negative and neutral) outcome group, an intermittent outcome group and a continuous positive outcome group. Level of depression was measured by three independent measures: the Beck depression scale, the Self-Rating Depression Scale, and the D scale from the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory. The results of three analyses of variance and subsequent post hoc analyses revealed that all active treatment groups realized a significant decrease in depression as compared to the control group. However, the various treatment schedules performed equally, with no schedule showing superior performance. It was concluded that an increase in positive outcome behaviors does lead to improvement in mild depression. Strengths and limitations of the study as well as suggestions for future research were also discussed.