Group therapy improved youth quality of life, with limited mood-symptom effects
A waitlist-controlled trial found clearer results for health-related quality of life than for specific symptoms of depression or anxiety.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
The main analysis found improved health-related quality of life after group therapy and a later improvement in future outlook compared with waiting. Effects on specific depression and anxiety symptoms were limited. Distress improvements appeared in an additional analysis and certain subgroups, so the results do not support equally broad benefits across all outcomes.
The study was open-label and used a waitlist rather than another therapy. The abstract gives no effect sizes or confidence intervals, limiting assessment of how large the improvements were.
What researchers found
Health-related quality of life
Therapy versus waitlist, from baseline to week 8 in the intention-to-treat analysis. The abstract does not report an effect size or measurement scale.
Which analysis matters
The main intention-to-treat results highlighted quality of life and future outlook. A separate per-protocol analysis also reported reduced distress; the abstract does not describe who was included in that analysis or why.
Subgroups and correlations
Distress changes appeared more pronounced in younger participants and females. Links between mindful attention, self-esteem and symptom changes were correlations within the therapy group, so they do not establish how the intervention produced its effects.
The original publication
Group-based Low-intensity Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Young People With Moderate Mental Distress: An Open-label Waitlist Randomized Controlled Trial.
Hui CLM, Suen YN, Chau EHS et al.
J Adolesc Health · 2025
- PubMed ID
- 40946234
- Record checked
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