ELSEVIER Psychiatry Research 64 (1996) 193-203 zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQ PSYCHIATRY RESEARCH Nonverbal interpersonal sensitivity and persistence of depression: Perception of emotions in schematic faces Antoinette L. Bouhuys*, Erwin Geerts, Peter Paul A. Mersch, Jack A. Jenner zyxwvutsrqpon Department of Psychiatry, University of Groningen, Academic Hospital, P.O. Box 30.001, 9700 RB Groningen, The Netherlands Received 12 October 1995; revised 8 February 1996; accepted 23 May 1996 Abstract Deficits in the decoding of facial emotional expressions may play a role in the persistence of depression. In a prospective longitudinal study, 33 depressed outpatients (30 major depression, 2 dysthymia, and 1 cyclothymic disorder) judged schematic faces with respect to the emotions they expressed (fear, happiness, anger, sadness, disgust, surprise, rejection, and invitation) at admission (T,,) and again 6 and 30 weeks later. Severity of depression (BDI) was assessed at these three times. Those patients who perceived less sadness, rejection, or anger in faces at T,, were less likely to show a favorable course of depression after 6 weeks (sadness, anger) or after 30 weeks (sadness, rejection, anger). These relationships could not be ascribed to initial levels of depression, age, or gender. The perception of sadness and rejection did not change over time, and therefore may have trait-like qualities. Depression appears to be more persistent in the subgroup that is hyposensitive to (negative) facial signals. Keywords: Affective disorder; Outcome; Facial expression 1. Introduction Cognitive processes and interpersonal sensiti- vity are presumed to constitute a risk for depres- sion. People who become depressed have rela- tively enduring negative cognitions that predis- pose them to depression (Beck et al., 1979), and interpersonal difficulties predict the propensity of x Corresponding author. Tel.: +33 3613547/3612056; fax: +33 3161699. depressive episodes to follow a chronic course (Brown et al., 1994). Deficient or problematic social behaviors of depression-prone persons may underlie depressogenic processes by eliciting neg- ative reactions in others, which may result in withdrawal by family and friends (Lewinsohn, 1974; Coyne et al., 1990). About 60% of human communication is non- verbal (Burgeon, 1985). An ethological approach may therefore reveal interpersonal behavioral and cognitive vulnerability factors for the onset and persistence of depression. Various studies support 0165-1781/96/$15.00 0 1996 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved. PII SO1 65-l 781(96) 02930-7