A positive correlation between self-ratings of depression and laboratory-measured aggression

Psychiatry Res. 1997 Mar 3;69(1):33-8. doi: 10.1016/s0165-1781(96)03025-9.

Abstract

Aggression and depressive symptoms have been linked using self-rating scales as measures of aggression. In order to study this relationship using an objective measure of aggression, we studied normal controls (42 women and 23 men) with the Point Subtraction Aggression Paradigm (PSAP) and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). There was a significant positive correlation (r = 0.442, P = 0.003) between the level of aggressive responding on the PSAP and the level of depressive symptoms on the BDI in women but not in men (r = 0.064, P = 0.773). This study provides some evidence of a link between aggressive behavior and depressive symptoms in a non-clinical population, possibly due to a common neurochemical etiology.

Publication types

  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Aggression*
  • Anxiety Disorders / diagnosis
  • Anxiety Disorders / psychology
  • Depressive Disorder / diagnosis*
  • Depressive Disorder / psychology
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Psychological Tests
  • Psychometrics
  • Self-Assessment
  • Sex Factors