Biomedical subjects

W W Hale

Publications and source records attributed to W W Hale.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2001

Behavioral social support between remitted depressed patients with partners and strangers.

BACKGROUND: Social support is associated with depression outcome and is effected by observable behaviors that express involvement. METHODS: Eleven remitted depressed patients were studied during a social interaction with their partner and a similar interaction with a stranger, matched on the sex and age of the partner. RESULTS: The patient-partner interaction displayed lower levels of involvement as compared to the patient-stranger interaction despite successful treatment for depression. CONCLUSION: It is suggested that the findings are reflective of the continuing depressogenic process. LIMITATIONS: A healthy control group for the patient-partner group was not employed. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Behavioral interactions between patients and partners may require as much attention during treatment as depressive symptomology alone.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed1998

Judgment of facial expressions and depression persistence.

In research it has been demonstrated that cognitive and interpersonal processes play significant roles in depression development and persistence. The judgment of emotions displayed in facial expressions by depressed patients allows for a better understanding of these processes. In this study, 48 major depression outpatients and healthy control subjects, matched on the gender of the patients, judged facial expressions as to the emotions the expressions displayed. These judgments were conducted at the patients' outpatient admission (T1). The depression severity of the patients was measured at T1, 13 weeks later (T2) and at a 6-month follow-up (T3). It was found that the judgment of negative emotions in the facial expressions was related to both the depression severity at T1 and depression persistence (T2 and T3), whereas the judgment of positive emotions was not related to the patients' depression. The judgment of the emotion of sadness was the best predictor of the patients' depression persistence. Additionally, it was found that the patients judged significantly more sadness in the facial expressions than the control subjects. These findings are related to previous data of facial expression judgments of depressed patients and future research directions are discussed.

Adult↗

PubMed1998

The judgement of facial expressions by depressed patients, their partners and controls.

BACKGROUND: Research has shown that cognitive and interpersonal processes play significant roles in depression development and maintenance. Depressed patients judgments of emotions displayed in facial expressions, as well as those of their partners, allow for better understanding of these processes. METHODS: In this study, twenty major depression outpatients, their partners and control persons (matched on the sex and age of the partner) judged facial expressions as to the emotions they felt were portrayed, at the patients outpatient admission. It was expected that the patients would judge the facial expression more negatively and less positively than their partners and that the partners would judge more negatively and less positively than the controls. RESULTS: It was found that while both the patients and partners judged less positive emotions than the controls, the patients and partners did not judge the expressions differently. A trend in the same direction was found between the three groups as to judgment of negative emotions. CONCLUSION: These findings are related back to interpersonal and cognitive theories of depression. LIMITATION: A limitation of this study was the somewhat small patient population available for study. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: This study helps to shed light on the similarity between interpersonal and cognitive processes of depressed patients and their partners.

Adult↗

PubMed1997

Depression relapse and ethological measures.

Within the framework of interactional theories on depression, the question is raised whether depression relapse can be predicted by observable behavior of remitted patients and their interviewer during an interaction (i.e. discharge interview). Thirty-four patients were interviewed at hospital discharge and at a follow-up, 6 months later. Eight patients (23.5%) had relapsed at follow-up. Various behaviors of patients and interviewers were observed during an interview by ethological methods. One of the six patient behavioral factors, and none of the seven interviewer factors were related to relapse. Depression relapse patients displayed significantly less Active Listening (intense body touching and head movements during listening) during the interview at hospital discharge than those with stable remission. Results on Active Listening could not be explained by the degree of retardation (HRSD) and underlined the significance of interpersonal mechanisms in the onset and maintenance of depression.

Adult↗

PubMed1997

Non-verbal behavioral interactions of depressed patients with partners and strangers: the role of behavioral social support and involvement in depression persistence.

Excessive support seeking and lack of receiving social support have been associated with depression onset and unfavorable course of depression. It has been assumed that social support is effected by observable behaviors that express involvement. Twenty-five patients with major depression were studied during a social interaction with their partner and a similar interaction, with a stranger, matched on the sex and age of the partner. We anticipated that (1) partners would display less involvement behaviors to the depressed patients than would strangers and that (2) lack of involvement would predict an unfavorable course of depression, as assessed for depression remission within 6 months of admission. The social interactions, conducted at admission, were videotaped and the behaviors were assessed by ethological methods. The frequency and duration of behavioral elements were associated on the basis of statistical criteria into behavioral factors. Certain factors were supposed to express (lack of) involvement during an interaction. In the patient-partner interaction it was found that both participants displayed lower levels of involvement as compared to the patient-stranger interaction. The patients' low involvement was reflected by less Speech, less Eagerness (yes-nodding and no-shaking), less Speaking Effort (head movements, looking and gesturing during speech) and more Active Listening (intense touching of one's own body and head movements during listening). The partners' low involvement was also expressed by less Speech and more Active Listening, together with less Encouragement (yes-nodding and 'um-hum'-ing during listening). In addition, the partners displayed less Speech to patients who did not remit within 6 months, whereas patients and strangers behaviors were not related to depression remission. These findings supported our anticipations and the findings are related back to data on social support, involvement and to previous human ethological studies on depression.

Adult↗

PubMed1997

Predictive power and construct validity of the Level of Expressed Emotion (LEE) scale. Depressed out-patients and couples from the general community.

BACKGROUND: The Level of Expressed Emotion scale (LEE) is a questionnaire designed to measure the perception of expressed emotion, an important predictor of the course of several psychiatric disorders. METHOD: In this study, the scale's predictive and construct validity were examined in a sample of 26 clinically depressed out-patients and their partners, and in a sample of 40 couples from the general community. RESULTS: In the sample of depressed out-patients, the LEE was predictive of depression improvement at six-month follow-up. With regard to the construct validity, results in both samples showed quite strong relationships between the LEE and depressive symptomatology, relational dissatisfaction, and coping styles. CONCLUSIONS: The LEE may be a useful tool in the study of interpersonal processes and depression, both in clinical and research settings.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed1993

Depression and assessment of intellectual functioning.

This study examined the relation between WAIS and Wilson predictor of premorbid intelligence scores of 27 depressed and 34 nondepressed psychiatric patients. No significant difference was found between the WAIS and Wilson predictor of premorbid intelligence scores nor between the Verbal and Performance IQs.

Adolescent↗