Sex Differences in the Relationship of Anger and Depression: An Empirical Study

A comparison of mean scores on the Beck Depression Inventory and State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory scales revealed that women scored significantly higher than men on depression, whereas there were no significant differences on any of the 6 anger scales. Separate multiple regression analyses revealed that there were statistically significant relationships between the linear combination of anger scales and depression for both groups. A comparison of zero-order correlations of depression with the anger scales revealed that Anger-In correlated significantly more highly with depression among women than men. Finally Anger-In correlated significantly with 4 of the 5 other anger scales for women, but only with one for men.     

TRANSITION TO PARENTHOOD AND MENTAL HEALTH IN FIRST‐TIME PARENTS

This study aimed to examine the transition to parenthood and mental health in first‐time parents in detail and explore any differences in this transition in the context of parental gender and postpartum mental health. Semistructured clinical interviews (Birmingham Interview for Maternal Mental Health) were carried out with 46 women and 40 men, 5 months after birth. Parents were assessed on pre‐ and postpartum anxiety, depression, and postpartum posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and a range of adjustment and relationship variables. One fourth of the men and women reported anxiety in pregnancy, reducing to 21% of women and 8% of men after birth. Pregnancy and postpartum depression rates were roughly equal, with 11% of women and 8% of men reporting depression. Postpartum PTSD was experienced by 5% of parents. Postpartum mental health problems were significantly associated with postpartum sleep deprivation (odds ratio [OR] = 7.5), complications in labor (OR = 5.1), lack of postpartum partner support (OR = 8.0), feelings of parental unworthiness (OR = 8.3), and anger toward the infant (OR = 4.4). Few gender differences were found for these variables. This study thus highlights the importance of focusing interventions on strengthening the couple's relationship and avoiding postnatal sleep deprivation, and to address parents’ feelings of parental unworthiness and feelings of anger toward their baby.     

Don't leave me: the effect of dependency and emotions in relationship conflict

Two studies examined how the effect of dependency and emotions on the dynamics of relationship conflict differs between men and women. In Study 1, 96 women and 67 men were presented with conflict situations that might occur in their relationship; the probability of aggression, anger, and dependency was measured. Results showed that anger mediated the relationship between dependency and the intention to use aggression, in men, but not in women. In Study 2, 95 women and 65 men wrote about a conflict situation that they had experienced with their partner; loyalty, guilt, and dependency were measured. Results showed that dependency predicted loyalty among women, and that this effect was mediated by guilt.     

Anger in type a women: Implications for coronary heart disease

The present study examines the relationship between Type A behaviour and anger in a sample of managerial women. The Type A behaviour pattern is hard driving, job-devoted lifestyle which is associated with a significantly increased risk of coronary heart disease in men as in women. Anger and hostility have been reported to be critical components of the Type A behaviour pattern which contribute to coronary heart disease. This research also examines the relationship between occupational demands and job anger in managerial women. Occupational demands include demands particularly unique to women in non-traditional occupational roles such as inequity of pay, underutilization of skills, low boss support and perceived sex discrimination. State (job) and Trait Anger were also assessed as were various psychological and behavioural outcomes such as state anxiety, depression, job satisfaction, absenteeism, and “intention to turnover”. Results showed that sex discrimination was a significant occupational stressor in Type As only. Further results of a multiple regression analysis indicated tha for Type As only, sex discrimination was positively associated with job anger when social support from one's boss was low. However, with increasing support, Type As were less likely to report anger when discrimination was high. In conclusion, the results of this study have demonstrated that social support can function as a buffer against anger, thus extending the buffering hypothesis originally put forth to refer to the buffering effects of social support and anxiety.     

The Social Costs and Benefits of Anger as a Function of Gender and Relationship Context

On the basis of Social Role Theory and a social functional view of emotions, we argue that gender differences in anger experiences and expression are related to men??s and women??s relationship context. We hypothesized that women in traditional relationship contexts would express their anger less directly, and would suppress their anger more, due to expected negative social appraisals. We compared anger reactions to a conflict situation in a traditional and egalitarian relationship context. Eighty-two Dutch adult participants (43 women and 39 men) were recruited partly by students in a psychology class, and partly by a snowball method. They were invited to participate only if they had a steady relationship of minimally one year. The results show that women report more intense subjective anger in both contexts, but that the expression of anger differed with relationship context. In traditional relationships women tend to suppress their anger more than men, while men report to express their anger directly more than women. This difference in anger expression was mediated by negative social appraisals. In egalitarian relationships, this difference was not found.     

Anxiety,anger and depression: Relationships at the trait level

Abstract

The relationship between anxiety and depression has been extensively researched at the state and clinical syndrome levels. However, relatively few studies have directed their attention to the interrelations between the constructs at the trait level. The present two studies investigated the interrelationships between anxiety, anger and depression at the trait level in nonclinical, subclinical and clinical samples. The results showed anxiety and depression to be highly correlated in students, adults, medical and psychiatric in-patients. As to the relationship of anger with both anxiety and depression, results, especially between anxiety and anger, were likewise significant although much weaker than commonly reported at the affective state level. Moreover, partial correlations suggested the results on the anger-depression relationship to be mainly due to the mediating (causal) influence of anxiety. The results are discussed with reference to the discrepancy of distinctions commonly made between the constructs at the theoretical level and lack of such distinction found at the empirical level. The possible mediating role of both trait-anxiety and trait-anger-in in the development of a depressive disposition is offered as an alternative explanation for the interrelatedness of the three constructs at the trait level.     

Prenatal paternal depression

Prenatal depressive symptoms, anxiety, anger and daily hassles were investigated in 156 depressed and non-depressed pregnant women and their depressed and non-depressed partners (fathers-to-be). Depressed versus non-depressed fathers had higher depression, anxiety and daily hassles scores. Although the pregnant women in general had lower anxiety, anger and daily hassles scores than the men, the scores on the measures for depressed fathers and depressed mothers did not differ. Paternal depression appeared to have less effect than maternal depression on their partners’ scores. However, the similarity between the scores of depressed mothers and depressed fathers highlights the importance of screening for depression in fathers-to-be as well as mothers-to-be during pregnancy.     

THE GENDER STEREOTYPING OF EMOTIONS

Three studies documented the gender stereotypes of emotions and the relationship between gender stereotypes and the interpretation of emotionally expressive behavior. Participants believed women experienced and expressed the majority of the 19 emotions studied (e.g., sadness, fear, sympathy) more often than men. Exceptions included anger and pride, which were thought to be experienced and expressed more often by men. In Study 2, participants interpreted photographs of adults'ambiguous anger/sadness facial expressions in a stereotype-consistent manner, such that women were rated as sadder and less angry than men. Even unambiguous anger poses by women were rated as a mixture of anger and sadness. Study 3 revealed that when expectant parents interpreted an infant's ambiguous anger/sadness expression presented on videotape only high-stereotyped men interpreted the expression in a stereotype-consistent manner. Discussion focuses on the role of gender stereotypes in adults'interpretations of emotional expressions and the implications for social relations and the socialization of emotion.     

Expressed and suppressed anger and health problems among transit workers

The present study assessed the relationship between anger expression and health outcomes in a sample of 1,407 San Francisco bus drivers. When controlling for a variety of health-risk factors, the results of multiple logistic regression analyses revealed significant positive associations between high levels of suppressed as well as expressed anger and gastrointestinal, respiratory, and musculoskeletal problems, with one exception (viz., the relationship between expressed anger and gastrointestinal problems was only marginally significant [p = .09]). Although both modes of anger expression were related to these health problems for men, none of the associations were significant for women. The results do not support the view that suppressed anger is more detrimental to health than expressed anger but rather suggest that both modes of coping with anger may increase vulnerability to disease in men. This work was supported by the Urban Mass Transit Authority of the United States Government Department of Transportation under grant CA-06-0160.     

purging behavior in a sample of college females: a research note on general strain theory and female deviance

Tests of theories of deviance tend to focus on criminality, delinquency, or types of deviance more typically engaged in by males. Prototypical female deviance has been largely ignored. This article reports the findings from a pilot study of female deviance. Using a sample of 96 college women, we examine the utility of General Strain Theory to explain one prototypically female type of deviant behavior, purging. We explore the relationship of strain variables to purging, mediated through negative affect. Two forms of negative affect, anger and depression, are included in the model. Our findings suggest that the relationship is complex, with an interaction between anger and depression. Anger is associated with purging at high levels of depression only. The preliminary findings, when viewed in conjunction with prior research, suggest that different negative affective states may be associated with different types of deviance outcomes, and that typically "female" or self-directed types of deviance may result from the interaction of anger and depression.     

Predictors of risk for smoking relapse in men and women: A prospective examination

The current study examined whether prequit trait negative mood and smoking motives have different predictive patterns of smoking relapse in men and women. Thirty-three female (mean age ± SEM: 34.9 ± 2.5) and 38 male (mean age ± SEM: 37.1 ± 2.3) smokers interested in smoking cessation completed forms on smoking history, negative mood (i.e., depression, anxiety, and anger), stress, and smoking motives. Participants also provided samples for measurement of cotinine and carbon monoxide. Then, they set a quit date and were required to abstain from smoking at least for 24 hours. Participants were followed up for 12 months postcessation to measure their smoking status. Cox proportional hazard models revealed that motivation to reduce craving was a unique predictor of smoking relapse in men, while depressive mood, anxiety, anger, and perceived stress were predictive of time to relapse among women. These findings remained significant after statistically controlling for smoking-related variables, providing preliminary evidence that different factors may be associated with nicotine withdrawal and smoking relapse in men and women. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).     

Current and past depression as predictors of family functioning: a comparison of men and women in a community sample.

The association between family functioning and parental depression has primarily been studied in samples of women. In particular, very little research exists that examines how parent gender and past diagnoses of depression are related to family functioning. The family relationships of 469 couples from a community sample were examined using self- and partner report measures of the marital relationship and youth report and interviewer-rated measures of the parent-youth relationship. Both currently and formerly depressed men and women were shown to have poorer family functioning than nondepressed and never depressed individuals, respectively. Interactions of gender and depression status indicated that depression and poorer marital functioning were more strongly related for women than for men, but there were few gender differences in the parent-youth relationship. The results highlight the need for further research on men's family functioning and suggest that targeting current depressive symptoms in treatment may not be sufficient to resolve marital and parent-youth difficulties that endure after depressive episodes remit.     

Type A behavior pattern and emotion expression in younger and older adults.

Eighty younger (less than 50 years, M = 28 years) and 80 older (more than 50 years, M = 69 years) Type A and Type B Ss were evaluated for Type A behavior pattern using the Structured Interview (SI) and given personality tests for anxiety, depression, anger, aggression, hostility, and anger-in-anger-out. Ss also underwent an emotion induction procedure. Videotapes of the emotion induction procedure (N = 160) and the SI (N = 80) were coded for facial expression of emotion. Type As did not differ from Bs on anxiety or depression but did on anger and aggression. Type As showed anger inhibition and anger bound to shame, as predicted by emotion socialization theory. The greatest number of differential effects were observed between age groups. Older individuals, in general, were more emotionally expressive than younger Ss across a range of emotions. Women appeared more conflicted about anger expression than men, and Type A women more so than Type A men.     

DEPRESSION IN WOMEN AS RELATED TO ANGER AND MUTUALITY IN RELATIONSHIPS

Self-in-relation theory (Jordan, Kaplan, Miller, Stiver, & Surrey, 1991) proposes that a lack of mutuality in women's relationships predisposes them to depression and inhibits their ability to acknowledge and address effectively emotions such as anger. Research linking anger to depression has not examined women's emotional expressivity within the context of their partner relationships. Women's depression as a function of both their level of anger suppression or inappropriate anger expression and the level of perceived relationship mutuality was studied in a sample of 223 college women, aged 18 to 54. Lower levels of mutuality and higher levels of suppressed or inappropriately expressed anger were associated with depression. Moreover, mutuality made contributions to predicting depression beyond that explained by anger. Lower mutuality was also related to higher anger suppression, but unrelated to inappropriately expressed anger.     

Cognitive Specificity in Trait Anger in Relation to Depression and Anxiety in a Community Sample

The current research explored 16 of Young's schemas in relation to trait anger and to anxiety and depression symptoms among 262 non‐clinical Australian adults with low‐level symptomatology and average anger levels. The study partially replicated previous work with a sample of Spanish students that investigated the relationship between anger, depression, and anxiety and Young's schemas. Predictions derived from Beck's notion of cognitive specificity were examined using structural equation modelling and showed that of the sixteen schemas, Vulnerability was linked to anxiety, Social Isolation and Enmeshment were linked to depression, and Entitlement, Insufficient Self‐Control, Mistrust and Abuse, Subjugation (negatively), and Abandonment were linked to anger. The discrepancies between these and the Spanish findings and the difficulties of other researchers in establishing higher order aggregations of Young's schemas prompted further consideration of the range of such schemas with respect to anger, depression, and anxiety, and the possibility that sample characteristics may play a critical role in determining the varying affect—schema relationships.     

Gender Moderates the Relationship Between Empathy and Aggressiveness in Sport: The Mediating Role of Anger

This research investigated whether gender moderates, and anger mediates, the relationship between empathy (i.e., perspective taking and empathic concern) and aggressiveness in sport. In Study 1, perspective taking and empathic concern were negatively associated with aggressiveness, and this effect was stronger in women compared to men. In Study 2, perspective taking was a negative predictor of aggressiveness and antisocial behavior in sport, and anger mediated these relationships in women but not in men. Our findings suggest that empathy and emotion-based strategies targeted at reducing aggressiveness in sport need to be tailored for male and female athletes.     

Sex differences in relationships among anger, depression, and coping strategies of Japanese students

This study investigated sex differences in the relationships among an ger, depression, and coping strategies. Undergraduate students, 77 men and 130 women, 3 not identified by sex, voluntarily participated. Participants made ratings on a self-report about anger, depression, coping strategies, and mental health. Analyses showed that women who reported themselves as angry tended to cope with stress by optimistic and active strategies, while women who reported themselves as depressed tended to cope with stress by withdrawn and passive strategies. Men who reported being depressed tended to select emotion-focused cognitive coping, while men who reported being angry selected no specific coping. Adoption of engaged emotion focused coping strategies were related to mental health only for women.     

Anger, Spiritual Meaning and Support from the Religious Community in Dementia Caregiving

This study explores the relationships between spiritual meaning and social support from the religious community and problem behaviors, anger and depression in 128 dementia caregivers. The results suggest a mediating role of anger in the relationship between the appraisal of problem behaviors and depression. Support from the religious community is directly and negatively associated with anger, but the relationship between spiritual meaning and anger is mediated by caregivers’ appraisals of problem behaviors, suggesting that spiritual beliefs might help caregivers to find meaning in caregiving experiences and thus appraise care recipients’ behavioral problems as less stressful.     

Anger and Anger’s Expression Generally and in Romantic Relationships

This research explored whether anger and anger expression differed when experienced generally versus in the context of a romantic relationship. Undergraduates completed trait anger and anger expression measures as they applied to their experiences generally and again as they applied to their romantic, partnered relationships. Students reported more anger and anger suppression generally than in relationships, but women reported more anger in relationships than men. Women reported more anger-out forms of anger expression in relationships than in general, whereas men did not differ in their anger expression style as a function of context. Men reported more overall anger-control in both contexts than women. Effect sizes for context and gender × context interactions were small to moderate. Parallel measures generally and in relationships were highly correlated. Findings are consistent with research demonstrating that context, and specifically the context of an intimate partnered relationship, influences anger and anger expression, but also suggest a large person factor as well. Implications for future research and work with couples in therapy are given.     

Psychopathy and Functions of Aggression in Emerging Adulthood: Moderation by Anger Rumination and Gender

Psychopathy has been previously identified as a risk factor for aggression (Porter and Woodworth 2006). However, few studies have considered specific relationships with functional subtypes of aggression, or how gender and anger rumination affect these relationships in emerging adulthood. We hypothesized that primary psychopathy would be uniquely related to proactive aggression (PA) and secondary psychopathy to reactive aggression (RA), and that these relationships would be amplified by anger rumination, and potentially influenced further by gender. Undergraduate students (N = 610; 73.3 % female) ages 18–20 completed self-report measures of anger rumination, psychopathy, and aggression, and hypotheses were tested using hierarchical regression. As predicted, anger rumination enhanced the association between secondary psychopathy and RA. It also amplified the relationship between primary psychopathy and PA, but only at very high levels of anger rumination. Gender moderated interactions between primary and secondary psychopathy on aggression. For men, primary psychopathy attenuated the secondary psychopathy – RA relationship, but not for women. These findings fill an important gap in the literature by demonstrating how tendencies to ruminate on anger and psychopathic traits interact to influence functional subtypes of aggression in young men versus women.