Abstract
The present paper represents an investigation in the procedure to validate a new questionnaire (Salzburg Subjective Behavioural Analysis, SSBA). This questionnaire is based on a new approach to the diagnosis of depressive behaviour. It is hypothesized that a patient suffering from a depressive disorder loses the ability to produce one or more modes of behaviour at a given time and simultaneously has the urge to produce one or more modes of behaviour constantly. Although the patient is capable of describing this behavioural disorder, he/she is unable to interpret it confidently. This inability of interpretation of depressive behaviour assessed with the SSBA may represent a special kind of cognitive impairment in depression that is tested in conducting an analysis of confidence. The analysis of confidence shows that the capability of interpretation in the patient group is significantly impaired. Finally, a discriminant analysis allows to differentiate between depressive behaviour and normal behaviour based on the questionnaire.
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Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank all participants of the study. This study was not funded and was conducted independent of outside institutional influence. The authors are very thankful to Beate Westermayer for preparing the final version of the paper. This study is dedicated to Hartmann Hinterhuber (Medical University, Innsbruck, Austria).
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Appendix
Appendix
SSBA (Salzburg Subjective Behaviour Analysis).
Has the frequency of the following behaviours changed during the last 2 weeks in comparison to normal? If so, how frequently do you do or feel the following:
Please give an example and an interpretation, if you choose NEVER or ALWAYS.
No. | Behaviour | Never | Seldom | No change | More often | Always | Example/interpretation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Sleep | ||||||
2 | Vomit | ||||||
3 | Feel alert + focused | ||||||
4 | Feel greedy | ||||||
5 | Feel generous | ||||||
6 | Eat | ||||||
7 | Bowel urgency | ||||||
8 | Move around | ||||||
9 | Feel stiff (not able to move) | ||||||
10 | Feel afraid | ||||||
11 | Feel happy | ||||||
12 | Deal with problems, situations, people | ||||||
13 | Avoid people | ||||||
14 | Perform sexual activity | ||||||
15 | Perform mental/intellectual activity | ||||||
16 | Drink | ||||||
17 | Urge to urinate | ||||||
18 | Quarrel | ||||||
19 | Feel peaceable | ||||||
20 | Feel like fighting | ||||||
21 | Feel resigned and non-resistant | ||||||
22 | Feel jealous | ||||||
23 | Feel indulgent | ||||||
24 | Work | ||||||
25 | Rest | ||||||
26 | Talk | ||||||
27 | Listen | ||||||
28 | Feel pleased | ||||||
29 | Feel annoyed/irritated | ||||||
30 | Laugh | ||||||
31 | Cry | ||||||
32 | Communicate with others | ||||||
33 | Seclude yourself | ||||||
34 | Feel cheerful | ||||||
35 | Feel sad |
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Rothuber, H., Leibetseder, M. & Mitterauer, B. Confidence Analyses of Self-Interpretation and Self-Description in Depressive Behaviour. J Psycholinguist Res 43, 255–265 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10936-013-9251-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10936-013-9251-9