Behavioral activation treatments for depression in adults: A meta-analysis and review.

TLDR

Behavioral activation (BA) treatments for depression require patients to increase overt behavior to bring them in contact with reinforcing environmental contingencies. This meta‑analysis sought to identify all randomized controlled studies of BA, determine its overall effect, and examine the differential effectiveness of its variants. The analysis included 34 randomized controlled trials with 2,055 participants reporting symptoms of depression. The pooled effect size was 0.78 (0.74 for major depressive disorder), with no superiority over cognitive therapy, indicating that BA is a well‑established and advantageous alternative to other depression treatments.

Abstract

Behavioral activation (BA) treatments for depression require patients to increase overt behavior to bring them in contact with reinforcing environmental contingencies. This meta-analysis sought to identify all randomized controlled studies of BA, determine the effect of this approach, and examine the differential effectiveness of variants. Thirty-four studies with 2,055 participants reporting symptoms of depression were included. The pooled effect size indicating the difference between BA and control conditions at posttest was 0.78. For participants who satisfied the criteria for major depressive disorder, the overall effect size of 0.74 remained large and significant. No differences in effectiveness between BA and cognitive therapy were found. BA may be considered a well-established and advantageous alternative to other treatments of depression.