Unanticipated effect of a randomized peer network intervention on depressive symptoms among young methamphetamine users in Thailand

• Main Authors: D. German, C. G. Sutcliffe, B. Sirirojn, S. G. Sherman, C. A. Latkin, A. Aramrattana, D. D. Celentano
• Format: Journal
• Published: 2018
• Subjects: Psychology
• Online Access: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?partnerID=HzOxMe3b&scp=84864911363&origin=inward; http://cmuir.cmu.ac.th/jspui/handle/6653943832/52000
• Institution: Chiang Mai University

We examined the effect on depressive symptoms of a peer network-oriented intervention effective in reducing sexual risk behavior and methamphetamine (MA) use. Current Thai MA users aged 18-25 years and their drug and/or sex network members enrolled in a randomized controlled trial with 4 follow-ups over 12 months. A total of 415 index participants recruited 568 network members. Linear repeated measures models were fit with depressive symptoms (Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale [CES-D]) as the outcome. Among indexes in the intervention condition, mean CES-D decreased from 20.0 to 15.7 (p < 0.0001) over follow-up. Controlling for covariates and changes in MA and alcohol use, CES-D in this group decreased by 0.35 points per month (95% confidence interval, 0.45, -0.25). All other groups showed minimal changes in CES-D score. The peer-oriented, community-based intervention designed to reduce MA use and sexual risk behavior also resulted in substantial reduction in depressive symptoms, independent of changes in MA use. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.