INTERPERSONAL IMPROVEMENT IN CHRONICALLY DEPRESSED-PATIENTS TREATED WITH DESIPRAMINE

Objective: Interpersonal difficulties of dysthymic patients are little studied. We used the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems (IIP) to ass ess baseline status and medication response in chronic depression. Met hod: 39 chronically depressed subjects answered the IIP at entry and a fter 10 weeks of desipramine (DMI). Seventeen DMI responders completed IIPs after a 16-week continuation phase. Results: Mean scores improve d on all six IIP subscales during acute treatment. Continuation phase IIP improved non-significantly, approaching normative scores. Baseline IIP score correlated inversely with treatment outcome. Conclusions: F indings replicate in greater interpersonal detail research demonstrati ng rapid social amelioration in chronically depressed responders to an tidepressant medication. The IIP may be useful as a predictive and int erpersonal sensitivity measure in treatment studies of chronic depress ion.