Analysis of Nonverbal Behavior in Affective Disorders in Children and Adolescents with Type 1 Diabetes

摘要

The study of nonverbal behavior is important in objectifying and verifying the diagnosis of mental disorders. Also it is important in establishing correct diagnosis of affective disorders (anxiety and depression) in patients with type 1 diabetes using clinical and ethological methods. Ethological analysis of the behavior of children and adolescents with diabetes was conducted using adapted to the objectives of the study "Glossary of nonverbal human behavior", which includes basic units, simple and complex forms of behavior, as well as their dynamics. Formalization of the severity of behavioral symptoms was carried out in accordance with the scale of human ethological features (Human Ethological Signs Scale, HESS), which provides a 7-point score for ethological expression. We have revealed and ranged several nonverbal patterns recorded with a frequency of more than 90%, which were of particular importance for ethological verification of anxiety in children and adolescents suffering from diabetes. Our results show that ethological analysis of nonverbal behavior in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes significantly increases the information content of the clinical examination, contributes to objectification and verification of clinical and psychopathological data concerning the presence and severity of affective disorders caused by diabetes and allows one to confidently discriminate between depressive and anxiety disorders in the absence or even loss of verbal contact with the patient.