Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Adolescents today suffer from depression due to a range of environmental factors, which have a negative impact on their social, physical, psychological, and cognitive development. This study aims to assess the impact of behavioral activation therapy on neurobiological markers of depression in adolescents. METHODS: This study was carried out on school-going adolescents after obtaining informed voluntary consent. 20 adolescents (14-16 years) with mild and moderate depression based on Beck's Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) were randomly assigned to control and experimental groups, equally. Behavioral activation therapy was given for 1 month, consisting of mood elevation, problem-solving, social skill development, and healthy behavior, while control was given routine care. Post-test was done using BDI-II for both groups. BMI and salivary cortisol were measured as neurobiological markers for both groups in the pre- and post-test. Data were analyzed through inferential statistics. RESULTS: Data revealed there is no significant difference in the groups (control and experimental) (P = .571), no significant difference in tests (pre- and post-test) (P = .244), and a significant interaction (group X test) (P = .298). Multiple comparisons found no significant difference between control and experimental pretests (between groups) (P = .356) or control and experimental post-tests (P = .9). There was no significant difference between the control pre- and post-test (within groups) (P = .125) or the experimental pre- and post-test (P = .926). CONCLUSION: Behavioral activation treatment helps to reduce depression among adolescents.