Effectiveness of Interventions for Depression in College Students: A Systematic Review

This study addresses the growing crisis of depression in young individuals, with a notable prevalence among university students who do not receive adequate treatment. The objective of this study is to assess the effectiveness of mental health interventions focused on improving depression in college students. To achieve this, a systematic literature review was conducted to identify research evaluating these treatments in the Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed, PsycInfo, and Scielo databases from 2018 to 2023. 13 articles were included, comprising research conducted in various countries, with a total of 939 participants, with a homogeneous average age of 19,7 ± 2,98 to 24,21 ± 5,21. 61,5% of the interventions followed approaches derived from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), 77% were conducted in person, and 53% were in group format. All interventions demonstrated efficacy through statistical significance “p”, considering p < 0.05 when comparing treatment and control groups. Although the small sample sizes may limit generalization, the results suggest recommending these interventions. Further studies need to be conducted considering the identified limitations and cultural diversity, aiming at the implementation of long-term interventions.