Verbal behaviors in depressed and nondepressed mentally retarded persons

Thirty depressed and 30 nondepressed mentally retarded adults were selected from an initial pool of 110 patients seen at either inpatient or outpatient psychiatric settings in western Pennsylvania. These two groups were compared on each of 14 operationally defined behaviors in an analogue interview setting. Despite the fact that these behaviors are typically considered to characterize depression, no difference was found between the depressed and nondepressed groups. A discussion of the possibilities for these results is made.