Psychiatry Investig.  2022 Mar;19(3):178-189. 10.30773/pi.2021.0289.

Impairments of Social Interaction in Depressive Disorder

• Akinci E
• Wieser MO
• Vanscheidt S
• Diop S
• Flasbeck V
• Akinci B
• Stiller C
• Juckel G
• Mavrogiorgou P

• KMID: 2527413
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.30773/pi.2021.0289

Abstract

Objective
Despite the numerous findings on the altered emotion recognition and dysfunctional social interaction behavior of depressive patients, a lot of the relationships are not clearly clarified.
Methods
In this pilot study, 20 depressive patients (mean±SD, 38.4±14.2) and 20 healthy subjects (mean±SD, 38.9±15.3) (each in dyads) were videographed. We then analyzed their social interaction behavior and emotion processing in terms of emotion recognition, their own emotional experience, and the expression of emotions under the conditions of a semi-structured experimental paradigm.
Results
Patients showed more significant impairment regarding the dimensions of social interaction behavior (i.e., attention, interest, and activity) and their interaction behavior was characterized by neutral affectivity, silence, and avoidance of direct eye contact. This interactive behavioral style was statistically related to depressive psychopathology. There were no differences concerning emotion recognition.
Conclusion
Impairments of non-verbal and verbal social interaction behavior of depressive patients seem to be less associated with disturbances of basic skills of emotion recognition.

Keyword

Depressive disorder; Emotion recognition; Expression of emotions; Video-based behavioral analysis; Social interaction