Citation

Miller L, Hlastala SA, Mufson L, Leibenluft E, Yenokyan G, Riddle M. Depress. Anxiety 2018; 35(6): 574-582.

Affiliation

Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1002/da.22761

PMID

29719093

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Youth with chronic irritability and excessive reactivity, diagnosed as disruptive mood dysregulation disorder (DMDD), have social impairment in multiple settings (i.e., peers, school, and home). This paper presents a pilot randomized trial assessing the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) for mood and behavior dysregulation (IPT-MBD), an adapted version of IPT for depressed adolescents. IPT-MBD focuses on decreasing outbursts and irritability and improving interpersonal interactions.

METHODS: Nineteen adolescents (aged 12-17) with DMDD or its research precursor, severe mood dysregulation, were randomly assigned to IPT-MBD (n = 10) or treatment-as-usual (TAU, n = 9) in a 24-week psychosocial intervention study. Assessments of mood symptoms and overall functioning were conducted by an independent evaluator, blinded to treatment, every 4 weeks. Parent and self-report irritability measures were collected every 4 weeks.

RESULTS: Eighty percent of participants randomized to the IPT-MBD arm completed the study. Also, participants enrolled in the IPT-MBD arm attended >80% of therapy sessions. Parents and teens agreed that the frequency and duration of therapy were appropriate and were satisfied with IPT-MBD treatment. Clinical global impression scales for severity and improvement showed statistically greater improvement in the IPT-MBD group compared to TAU.

CONCLUSIONS: In this small pilot randomized trial, IPT-MBD was feasible and acceptable to parents and teens. There was significantly more improvement in the IPT-MBD group compared to TAU. IPT-MBD holds promise as a potentially effective psychosocial intervention for clinically impaired youth with DMDD and warrants further investigation in a larger randomized trial.

© 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Language: en

Keywords

adolescent; disruptive mood dysregulation disorder; interpersonal psychotherapy; irritability