Effectiveness of the Well-being Therapy in depression management among adolescents in secondary schools in Kakamega County, Kenya

Abstract

Depression is the third leading public health concern and second leading cause of death for adolescents. Its prevalence in Africa is higher  than in developed countries where it is better managed. Well-being Therapy (WBT) is a psychotherapy that improves ones’ self- acceptance, positive relations, environmental mastery, purpose in life, personal growth and autonomy. WBT has effectively managed  mental disorders in comparison to other therapies, and its effectiveness has been evaluated. However, more comparative effectiveness  studies are needed to validate its efficacy. This study examined the effectiveness of WBT in depression management among adolescents  in secondary schools in Kakamega County, Kenya. Kutcher Adolescent Depression Scale of 11 items (KADS-11) and Ryff’s Psychological  Well-being (PWB) test comprising 18 items were used to measure depression and PWB scores, respectively. Results showed that WBT was  effective in managing depression among the participants. The depression mean score was significantly lower at post-test for  adolescents after receiving WBT (mean 13.8, SD=3.6, p<0.001) than the pretest score (Mean 21.0, SD=6.6, p<0.001). The PWB scores for the  post-test, were significantly higher than the pretest score for the adolescents (mean 51.3 SD=6.7; 79.5 SD=8.2; <0.001). The effect size  test for non-depressive symptoms indicated that adolescents who underwent WBT were favoured significantly (Hedge g=0.9 (0.53-1.52),  overall effect size Z=1.26; p=0.05). Post-tests done using same tools as pretest showed that when PWB increased, depression concomitantly decreased. WBT could be an effective depression management tool among schoolgoing adolescents.