Effectiveness of a Single Session Protocol of Behavioral Activation in College Students with Depressive Symptomatology

Previous research has analyzed the effectiveness of a single session intervention of Behavioral Activation (BA) for reducing depressive symptoms, however, it is important to replicate findings in different populations. The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of a single session intervention protocol of BA in college students with depressive symptomatology. The study was experimental pretest posttest with reference group in waiting list (N=60). Students who scored more than 36 points in the Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS) were selected and were randomly distributed to the reference group or experimental group. The results showed a remarkable decrease of depressive symptomatology in experimental group students compared to control group and it was found that the effect size of the treatment was 0.74, which contributes to the empirical evidence about BA especially regarding college population.