La psychopathologie à la lumière des histoires de vie : Etude de la fonction narrative d’adolescents obèses et dépressifs.

Obesity in adolescence is a complex chronic illness with havy consequences in short, medium and long terms,
both in terms of physical health and mental health, disturbing the body and identity of these youngs (High
Authority of Health, 2011; Nietsen and Bruwier, 2007). The literature mentions depression as a pathology
associated with obesity. Some researchers consider obesity as a cause of depressive symptoms while others
researchers see depression like a risk factor for excessive weight gain (Blaine, 2008). Depression in adolescence
has been the subject of epidemiological studies for some years. In adolescents, the prevalence rates vary from 5
to 7 % for major depressive episode (MDE) with a prevalence of 2 girls for one boy (Alvin and Marcelli, 2005).
The specific symptoms of depressed mood are present in 30-40 % of schooled adolescents (Boulard et al., 2012).
During adolescence, the individual acquires the ability to link the various elements of one’s life and build a
coherent life story. The adolescent will write one’s story in a personal context. According to Habermas et al.
(2008), both the form and the content of life stories show how the individual integrates the lived experiences in a
coherent whole. Based on the statistical analysis of textual data, we compared the life stories of 28 obese
adolescents, depressed schooled adolescents, depressed hospitalized adolescents and control ones. The first
results show specific structures and particular contents depending on these groups. The use of pronouns,
temporal markers and the reported events differ by groups. Beyond clinical results, this research also highlights
the interest of statistical analysis of textual data (ADT) to improve the understanding of adolescent’s
psychopathology.