Baseline patient characteristics as predictors of remission in interpersonal psychotherapy for depression

Psychother Res. 2013;23(2):190-200. doi: 10.1080/10503307.2013.765997. Epub 2013 Feb 6.

Abstract

We examined patient characteristics as remission predictors in interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) for depression (n=95). Four characteristic domains (sociodemographic, clinical/diagnostic, interpersonal, cognitive) were analyzed using receiver operating characteristic analysis. Remission was defined two ways: (a) posttreatment BDI-II beyond population-based cut-scores for reliable and clinically significant change, and (b) posttreatment BDI-II≤10. Across both definitions, patients most likely to remit had lower mean item ratings (<3.75 and<3.25, respectively) on the fearful attachment dimension of the Relationship Scales Questionnaire (χ2 =7.172, p<.01 and χ2 =7.792, p<.01, respectively). For the second definition only, more fearfully attached patients who were ≤25 years of age at index depression onset were more likely to remit (χ2 =7.617, p<.01) than those >25. The findings contribute to the scant literature on patient factors related to remission following IPT.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Depressive Disorder / therapy*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Interpersonal Relations*
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Object Attachment*
  • Prognosis
  • Psychotherapy*
  • ROC Curve
  • Severity of Illness Index
  • Treatment Outcome