Relation of Depression to Anger and Hostility Constructs

Abstract

To understand better the relationship between depression and various constructs of anger and hostility, 112 university students were administered the MMPI Depression scale, the Hostility and Direction of Hostility Questionnaire, the Overcontrolled Hostility Scale, the Anger Expression Scale, and the State-Trait Anger Scale. Among depressed subjects there was a more intense experience of hostility, particularly inwardly directed hostility, and a diminished sense of control over anger or a disinclination to manage anger.

Female murderers: Examination of the relationship between childhood traumatic experiences and anger expression

“…Additionally, women who were abused as a child, anger control may evolve into repression. They may repress their anger in a more discreet way without externalizing (Biaggio & Godwin, 1987;Balkaya & Şahin, 2003;Avcı, 2009). Women who repress their anger since their childhood may not evaluate their level of anger accurately, this, in turn, may affect this study's ability to measure the level of anger in these women in an accurate way.…”

Be Careful What You Wish For! Desired and Actual Behavior Inconsistency in Frustrating and Provoking Situations as Predictors of Depression

“…Similarly, it has also been suggested that depression, at least in women, is related to the way anger is experienced and processed (Droppleman & Wilt, 1993;Sperberg & Stabb, 1998). It is suggested that women's higher susceptibility to depression, as compared to men, could be explained by women's stronger tendency to exhibit hostile behaviors or suppress angry feelings, instead of expressing their anger straightforwardly (Biaggio & Godwin, 1987;Goldman & Haaga, 1995). Some researchers, however, claim that women do not have a stronger tendency to suppress anger than men do (Biaggio & Godwin, 1987;Kopper, 1993).…”

“…It is suggested that women's higher susceptibility to depression, as compared to men, could be explained by women's stronger tendency to exhibit hostile behaviors or suppress angry feelings, instead of expressing their anger straightforwardly (Biaggio & Godwin, 1987;Goldman & Haaga, 1995). Some researchers, however, claim that women do not have a stronger tendency to suppress anger than men do (Biaggio & Godwin, 1987;Kopper, 1993). This inconsistency in research results could be related to cultural disparity in what men and women are allowed to do in certain social contexts (Markus & Kitayama, 1991;Thomas & Atakan, 1993).…”

“…Furthermore, the classical models of depression propose that those who make stable, global, and internal attributions of failures are more prone to depression (Abramson, Seligman, & Teasdale, 1978). Depressed patients also experience more intense hostility, especially inwardly directed, that can also influence the way they perceive social situations and block them from expressing angry feelings openly (Biaggio & Godwin, 1987). The hostility is possibly intensified by the fact that depressed individuals are more sensitive to negative events, possibly due to higher levels of neuroticism (Hettema et al, 2006).…”

Reliability and validity of the Turkish Version of DSM-5 Level 2 Anger Scale

“…Biaggio ve Godwin depresyon ile bastırılmış öfke arasındaki ilişki üzerinde durmuşlardır. 6 Benzer şekilde Bridewell ve Chang da içselleştirilmiş öfkenin, depresyonu yordamada önemli bir role sahip olduğunu ileri sürmektedir. 7 Öfkenin fazla kontrol edilmesinin depresyonla ilgili olduğu şeklindeki görüşü destekleyen bir diğer çalışma da Türk-çapar ve arkadaşları tarafından yapılmıştır.…”