Prevention of negative emotions in Adolescence: Evaluation of cognitive-behavioral techniques

Abstract

This study presents data about the efficacy of teaching different strategies (training in selfesteem, relaxation, social skills training and problem solving) in order to diminish depression and anxiety levels in an adolescent general population sample. Epidemiological studies performed on developed societies show an increase of emotional problems at this stage of life. The goal of our work is the assessment and solution of these problems. To assess the effectivity of the intervention, we applied a prevention program on a sample formed by 225 adolescents with an average age of 13.22 belonging to two different groups: intervention and comparation. Both groups have similar age, sex and Social Economical State (SES). A statistical analyses was carried out in order to determine the predictive weight of each of the program's modules in decreasing anxiety and depression levels. Our results show that anxiety levels are reduced through relaxation training and social skills improvement. On the other hand, social skills improvement was the only type of intervention that had no effect in decreasing depression levels.