Non-verbal interaction involvement as an indicator of prognosis in remitted depressed subjects

Fifty-one remitted depressed inpatients and their interviewers were observed during a conversation. We investigated whether non-verbal behavioral elements indicative of involvement displayed by the remitted patients and/or their interviewers were predictive of depressive symptoms 6 months later. Involvement behavior of the patients appeared to be related to future complaints; the lower the level of involvement displayed, the more unfavorable the outcome. We interpret these results with reference to concepts of social support.