Effect of interpersonal psychotherapy on social functioning, overall functioning and negative emotions for depression: A meta-analysis

Abstract

Background: Interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) has been widely used for depression. However, current studies of IPT have been restricted to depressive symptoms, and the results for improving social functioning were controversial.

Methods: A comprehensive literature search of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) was conducted through eleven databases. Data analysis was performed by RevMan5.3, and effects were summarized by using a random effects model of mean differences with 95 % confidence intervals.

Results: From 2443 records, eleven studies met inclusion and exclusion criteria were used for meta-analysis. The results showed that IPT had significant effects on improving social functioning (SMD: -0.53, 95 % CI: -0.80 to -0.26), reducing depression (SMD: -0.49, 95 % CI: -0.80 to -0.19) and anxiety (SMD: -0.90, 95 % CI: -1.28 to -0.52), but the effect on the overall functioning (SMD: -0.37, 95 % CI: -0.73 to -0.01) is not obvious. Moreover, subgroup analysis showed that IPT was effective in improving social functioning in adolescent depression (SMD: -0.35, 95 % CI: -0.58 to -0.13) and perinatal depression (SMD: -1.01, 95 % CI: -1.35 to -0.67), while there was no significant difference in the adult depression group (SMD: -0.39, 95 % CI: -1.05 to 0.27).

Limitation: The blind method cannot be carried out in most studies due to the particularity of psychotherapy, heterogeneity in some results.

Conclusion: IPT has a significant effect on improving social functioning and reducing depression and anxiety, while the effect on overall functioning requires further research. Overall, IPT is one of the effective nonpharmacological treatments for depression.

Keywords: Depression; Interpersonal psychotherapy; Meta-analysis; Overall functioning; Social functioning.