Recovery from depression among clients transitioning out of poverty

Am J Orthopsychiatry. 2010 Jan;80(1):26-33. doi: 10.1111/j.1939-0025.2010.01004.x.

Abstract

The objective of this study was to investigate whether a program designed to change the economic conditions of clients' lives could also have an impact on reducing their level of depression. The study focused on a sample of men and women attending a program designed to transition clients out of poverty through microlending and peer support. Results revealed that 40.5% of participants who met diagnostic criteria for major depression before beginning the program were no longer clinically depressed after participating in the program for 6 months. The results also revealed that the clients who reported that they felt a strong sense of interpersonal connection within the program were the most likely to recover from depression.

Publication types

  • Clinical Trial

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Depressive Disorder / economics
  • Depressive Disorder / psychology*
  • Depressive Disorder / therapy
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Interpersonal Relations
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Peer Group
  • Poverty / psychology*
  • Power, Psychological
  • Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
  • Self Concept
  • Social Identification
  • Social Support