Older Adults' Acceptability of Pharmacotherapy and Behavior Therapy for Depression: Initial Results

Abstract

Twenty older adults provided acceptability ratings for two interventions for the treatment of depression-behavior therapy and medication. At Time 1 assessment, subjects received infor mation regarding content of treatment followed by completion of the Treatment Evaluation Inventory (TEI). At Time 2 assessment, descriptions of treatment content and side effects were provided, and TEI was completed once again. Results indicated a main effect for treatment with behavior therapy receiving significantly higher acceptability ratings than medication. No main effect for side effects or interaction effects was obtained. These results suggest that older adults are influenced more by information regarding the content of treatments for depression than by side effects. The results also clearly indicate that older adults prefer behavior therapy for treatment of depression compared to medication. This article discusses implications for educat ing older adults and physicians regarding nonpharmacological alternatives for treatment of depression, and implications for older adults' psychological help-seeking behavior.