Depressive symptomatology in older adults treated with behavioral activation: A network perspective

Late-life depression is a serious mental health problem. Behavioral Activation (BA) is an effective, accessible psychotherapeutic treatment for older adults. However, little is known about which symptoms decrease and how associations between depressive symptoms change during BA treatment.

Using data from a cluster-randomized trial for older adults with late-life depression, we estimated a partial correlation network and a relative importance network of depressive symptoms before and after 8 weeks of BA treatment in primary care (n = 96). Networks were examined with measures of network structure, connectivity, centrality as well as stability.

The most central symptoms at baseline and post-treatment were anhedonia, fatigue, and feeling depressed. In contrast, sleeping problems had the lowest centrality. The post-treatment network was significantly more interconnected than at baseline. Moreover, all symptoms were significantly more central at post-treatment.

Our findings highlight the utility of the network approach to better understand symptom networks of depressed older adults before and after BA treatment. Results show that network connectivity and centrality of all symptoms increased after treatment. Future studies should investigate longitudinal idiographic networks to explore symptom dynamics within individuals over time.