[The social partners of depressives]

The interactional behavior of depressed individuals and that of control subjects was observed by means of a coding system. The partners of depressed individuals showed different categorial frequencies than the partners of non-depressed individuals. In addition, differing categorial frequencies were displayed by long-term and short-term partners. Short-term partners of depressed individuals were reserved and considerate whereas long-term partners tended to display more demanding and critical behavior. The results are discussed in behavioral terms.