Can linguistic analysis be used to identify whether adolescents with a chronic illness are depressed?

CAN LINGUISTIC ANALYSIS BE USED TO IDENTIFY WHETHER ADOLESCENTS WITH A CHRONIC ILLNESS ARE DEPRESSED? Clin Psychol Psychother. 2019 Dec 15;: Authors: Jones LS, Anderson E, Loades M, Barnes R, Crawley E Abstract Comorbid depression is common in adolescents with chronic illness. We aimed to design and test a linguistic coding scheme for identifying depression in adolescents with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME), by exploring features of e-consultations within online cognitive behavioural therapy treatment. E-consultations of 16 adolescents (aged 11 - 17) receiving FITNET-NHS treatment in a national randomised controlled trial were examined. A theoretically-driven linguistic coding scheme was developed and used to categorise comorbid depression in e-consultations using computerised content analysis. Linguistic coding scheme categorisation was subsequently compared to classification of depression using the Revised Children's Anxiety and Depression Scale (RCADS) published cut-offs (t-scores ≥ 65, ≥ 70). Extra linguistic elements identified deductively and inductively were compared with self-reported depressive symptoms after unblinding. The linguistic coding scheme categorised three (19%) of our sample consistently with self-report assessment. Of all 12 identified linguistic features, differences in language use by categorisation of self-report assessment were found for 'past-focus' words (mean rank frequenc...
Source: Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy - Category: Psychiatry Tags: Clin Psychol Psychother Source Type: research