Racial preferences for participation in a depression prevention trial involving problem-solving therapy.

OBJECTIVES: This study compared African Americans' and Caucasians' willingness to participate in an indicated intervention to prevent depression with problem-solving therapy. It also examined participants' problem-solving skills. Hypotheses stated that there would be no racial differences in consent rates and that social problem-solving coping skills would be lower among African Americans than Caucasians. METHODS: Proportions of African Americans and Caucasians who consented were compared, as were Social Problem Solving Inventory scores between the groups. RESULTS: Of 2,788 individuals approached, 82 (4%) of 1,970 Caucasians and 46 (6%) of 818 African Americans signed consent, and the difference was not significant (p=.09). Racial differences were observed in neither Social Problem Solving Inventory scores nor in the relationship between problem-solving skills and depressive symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: African Americans with depression demonstrated a willingness to participate in an indicated trial of depression prevention. Furthermore, both groups would appear to benefit from the problem-solving process

A comparison of the frequencies of risk factors for depression in older black and white participants in a study of indicated prevention

BACKGROUND: To compare the frequencies of risk factors, we describe risks for depression as a function of race among consecutively admitted participants in a randomized clinical trial of indicated depression prevention in later life. METHODS: Seventy-two black and 143 white participants were screened for risk factors for depression. RESULTS: Black participants were more likely to have fewer years of education and lower household income. They were more likely to be obese, live alone, experience functional disability, have a history of alcohol and drug abuse, and have lower scores on the Mini-mental State Examination and the Executive Interview (EXIT). White participants were not found to have greater prevalence or higher mean score on any risk factor. On average, black participants experienced approximately one more risk factor than white participants (t(213) = 3.32, p = 0.0011). CONCLUSIONS: In our sample, black participants had higher frequencies of eight risk factors for depression and a greater mean number of risk factors compared to white participants.http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S104161021000152