Depressive illness and behavioral modifications in children. The study of head and trunk mobility

The study of behavioral activity in depressed adults has given rise to many publications. On the other hand, there is currently no published research on behavioral modifications in child depression. This work uses the 'Berner system' to quantify the head and trunk mobility of children aged 7-13 years, hospitalized for a major depressive episode, during a standardized interview recorded on video. An analysis compares the results obtained on DA (day admission, before treatment) and DD (day discharge, after clinical improvement), and for a control sample. Contrary to rotational and lateral movements, the frequencies of sagittal movements varied between the two phases of the illness for both the head and trunk. However, the position of the head turned downwards was not characteristic of the depressed state.