Depression Treatment Can Prevent Teen Drug Abuse

Parents with children who suffer from major depression may want to make sure those symptoms are treated because it could prevent the child from becoming involved in substance abuse later. Researchers have found that adolescents treated for depression are significantly less likely to become drug abusers.

Unfortunately, treatment for depression does not prevent later alcohol abuse, the researchers found.

A Duke University Medical Center study of 439 adolescents from the "Treatment for Adolescents with Depression Study" (TADS; 2000-2003) who had no history of substance abuse prior to the study, followed the participants over a five-year period.

439 Depressed Teens Studied

The researchers found that 192 teens involved in the study had their depression symptoms reduced by treatment, while the rest of them did not respond to 12 weeks of therapy. The participants were treated with cognitive behavioral therapy, Prozac, both treatments or a placebo.

At the five-year follow-up point, only 10 percent of those 192 teens who responded to depression treatment abused drugs, compared to 25 percent of those for whom depression treatment did not work, a truly significant difference.

The surprising finding for the researchers, they said, was finding that treatment for depression had no affect on later alcohol abuse problems. They had no real answer for why that is true, except for the fact that alcohol use among the 17 to 23 age group study is so prevalent.

Alcohol Abuse Can Lead to Depression

"It does point out that alcohol use disorders are very prevalent during that particular age period and there's a need for a lot of prevention and education for college students to avoid getting into heavy drinking and then the beginnings of an alcohol disorder," Curry said. "I think that is definitely a take-home message."

The study also found that about half of the teens treated for depression remained well throughout the entire five-year study period, but the other half had another episode of major depression. For those who abused alcohol and had a second episode, the alcohol use always started first, followed by the depression.

Curry concluded that alcohol abuse can lead to repeat bouts of depression for some teens.

^{Source: Curry, J, et al. "Onset of Alcohol or Substance Use Disorders Following Treatment for Adolescent Depression," Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, April 2012.}

More About Depression:

• Depression Linked to First-Use of Drugs, Alcohol
  
• Depression - The Invisible Disease
  
• he Causes and Effects of Depression

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