Measurement of Hostility, Anger, and Depression in Depressed and Nondepressed Subjects

Abstract

This study examined the relationship between hostility and depression in depressed and nondepressed subjects as well as the reliability and validity of several measures of anger, hostility and depression. Sixty-nine subjects were evaluated for depression using the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRSD; Hamilton, 1960). These subjects were then administered the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI; Beck, Ward, Mendelson, Mock, & Ergaugh, 1961), Buss-Durkee Hostility Inventory (BDHI; Buss & Durkee, 1957), Hostility and Direction of Hostility Questionnaire (HDHQ; Foulds, Caine, & Creasy, 1960) and the State-Trait Anger Scale (STAS; Spielberger, Jacobs, Russell, & Crane, 1983). Results showed the BDI, STAS-TRAIT, HDHQ, and BDHI to have good temporal stability. Support was found for the convergent validity of all measures of depression, hostility, and anger. Limited discriminant validity was found between measures of anger and hostility and measures of depression. This latter finding was interpreted as lending support for the relationship between hostility and depression rather than as an indication of limited construct validity for the measures. Intercorrelations among hostility, anger, and depression scales offer some support for the hypothesis that depression is linked most strongly with attitudinal versus motoric forms of hostility. However, normative data suggests that both forms of hostility increase with severity of depression. Clinical implications and directions for further research are discussed.

Mediation effect of anger rumination on the relationship between dimensions of anger and anger control with mental health

“…Robbins and Tanck (1997) confirmed the relationship between anger and depression in their research with a sample of normal population. Following past studies (Fava, et al, 1997;Moreno et al, 1993;Riley, Treiber, & Woods, 1989), Fava and Rosenbaum (1999) also supported the association between anger and depression in their study with a sample of depressed patients. In one of the newest studies (Painuly, Sharan, & Mattoo, 2007), the same results were replicated.…”

Anger and depression predict hospital use among chronic heart failure patients

“…As the nature of this relationship is not understood, there is clearly a need for prospective studies to clarify the relationship. Given that depression and anger are highly correlated, 19 by accounting for anger, as with anxiety, it may help clarify whether depression alone is responsible for higher readmissions and longer stays in hospital, or again whether a spectrum of negative affect is associated with hospital admissions.…”

Changing Patterns of Attempted Suicide in Greece: Clinicoepidemiological and Psychodynamic Data

“…Almost half of the individuals reported such an event which can be considered as precipitating the attempt and, there-fore, antidepressive drugs are not sufficient, but the stressful events must subsequently be discussed in therapy so that such risk factors are not present in the future. Hostility and anger have to be worked through [35,36]. The type of stressful event is typical for the Greek family structure; marital problems are prominent, as well as other family discords (most often between a wife and her mother-in-law or an adolescent girl and a strict father), while financial and legal difficulties are as a rule felt the responsibility of the man in the family.…”