Johann Heinrich Ellgring, H. Wagner, AH Clarke

• Internal characteristics such as depressed mood, anxiety and general negative emotions are accompanied, particularly during depressive illness, by changes in observable behaviour. Accordingly, the following questions may be examined: are intra-individual changes in speech and gaze behaviour related to changes in the internal psychopathological state? Further, do these changes occur synchronously to changes in the state of subjective well-being? A longitudinal study was made on depressed patients. Their behaviour was observed during standardisedInternal characteristics such as depressed mood, anxiety and general negative emotions are accompanied, particularly during depressive illness, by changes in observable behaviour. Accordingly, the following questions may be examined: are intra-individual changes in speech and gaze behaviour related to changes in the internal psychopathological state? Further, do these changes occur synchronously to changes in the state of subjective well-being? A longitudinal study was made on depressed patients. Their behaviour was observed during standardised interviews and diagnostic-therapeutic discussions held at regu~ lar intervals. Various speech and gaze parameters were examined with respect to their coordination and their relationship to the subjective state of well-being. Considerable variation was found in the temporal relationship amongst these variables. The results are discussed with respect to the relevance of speech parameters and the coordination of verbal and nonverbal behaviour as indicators of the psychopathological condition.…