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Introduction: Compassion-focused therapy (CFT) has shown promising outcomes for young people, but research on CFT for this population remains limited. This study aims to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of a seven-session, therapist-led, internet-based group CFT for young people, and to investigate its preliminary effects.

Methods: A two-arm pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) was conducted. The study included 42 participants (aged 15–20), experiencing mild to moderate stress, anxiety, or depression, most of whom (90%) were female. In the intervention group, 22 participants were included in the intention-to-treat (ITT) analysis. The trial was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT05448014).

Results: The intervention group had low attrition and moderate attendance, with 77% completing four or more modules. No adverse events were reported, and participants generally expressed satisfaction with the intervention. Linear regression models showed preliminary between-group differences in two variables. Depressive symptoms increased post-intervention for individuals in the intervention group compared to the waitlist (WL) group (p = 0.002). Self-compassion improved in the intervention group (p = 0.023). These patterns were consistent among participants who completed more than two sessions. Within-group analyses indicated moderate, significant improvements in stress, self-compassion and compassion from others.

Discussion: These preliminary results suggest that CFT is feasible and acceptable and may offer benefits for young people, particularly by enhancing self-compassion and compassion for others. The observed increase in depressive symptoms in the intervention group, despite improvements in self-compassion, warrants further investigation. Larger studies are needed to confirm these preliminary results and to better understand the underlying mechanisms.

Introduction: Online group compassion-focused therapy (CFT) has not been thoroughly studied in young people, and the participants' perspectives on the treatment are highly relevant.

Methods: A seven-session internet-based group CFT program was evaluated for young people aged 15–20 (n = 42, females = 37). A self-report evaluation questionnaire, specifically designed for this study, was administered post-intervention. The current study investigated: (1) Potential factors influencing the treatment program goals (increase self-compassion, reduce self-criticism and increase affect-regulation abilities) and the participants' overall experience of the treatment; and (2) The effect each intervention exercise had on the program goals according to the participants' ratings.

Results: Participants generally reported high satisfaction and had a high attendance rate. Only 2.4% of the participants completed less than half of the sessions and 71% of the participants attended at least six of the seven sessions. Exercises that integrated traditional cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT) principles received high ratings, whereas breathing and mindfulness exercises were rated lower in many cases. Several compassion exercises were also highly rated, such as the Threat-drive and security system, based on CFT affect-regulation theory. The majority did not find home assignments helpful.

Discussion: The findings suggest that internet-based group CFT could be an easily accessible and acceptable intervention for young people in primary care, though further research is warranted.

Background: Depression in adolescence is a serious major global health problem with increasing rates of prevalence. Measures of depression that are valid for young people are clearly needed in clinical contexts.

Methods: The study included 577 patients from child and adolescent psychiatry (n = 471) and primary care (n = 106) aged 12–22 years in Sweden (Mage=16.7 years; 76% female). The reliability and validity for Montgomery–Åsberg Depression Rating Scale–Youth (MADRS-Y) were investigated. To confirm the latent structure, we used a single-factor confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). A Kruskal–Wallis test was performed to test total score differences between diagnostic groups. Using Spearman’s rho correlations, we examine whether single items in the MADRS-Y correlate with suicidal ideation measured by The Suicidal Ideation Questionnaire-JR (SIQ-JR).

Results: The internal consistency using McDonald’s coefficient omega was excellent. The CFA of the 12-item MADRS-Y supported a one factor structure. Evidence of convergent and discriminant validity was shown. There was a significant difference in MADRS-Y scores across diagnostic groups, with higher results for depressive disorders. A strong correlation with suicidal ideation was found for two items.

Conclusions: The results support MADRS-Y as a brief, reliable, and valid self-report questionnaire of depressive symptoms for young patients in a clinical setting.

Background: Because of all the serious consequences of major depressive disorder (MDD), it is important to screen for MDD in adolescents. The aim of this study was to test the psychometric properties of the newly developed self-report depression scale MADRS-Y for adolescents in a normative Swedish sample.

Methods: The study included 620 adolescents in the age range of 12–20 years old. The normative sample was randomly split into two equal parts, to perform principal component analysis (PCA) on sample one and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) on sample two. We investigated the psychometrics.

Results: The result from the PCA suggested that all 12 potential items should be used, and the items loaded on the same construct of depression. The CFA supported the one-factor structure with good fit indices. Measurement invariance was confirmed, allowing interpretation regardless of gender or age differences. Reliability was good, α.89, for both samples separately. Test-retest reliability was good to excellent (intraclass correlation coefficients =.87 and.91). Evidence of convergent and discriminant validity was shown.

Conclusions: The results in the current study suggest that the MADRS-Y is a brief, reliable, and valid self-report questionnaire of depressive symptoms for adolescents in the general population.