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.     

Affective and cognitive characteristics of depression in 10- and 11-year-old children

Indices of emotion experiences, attribution style, and intellectual performance were regressed on an index of childhood depression. The results indicated that the depressed children were like depressed adults in that they reported experiencing a pattern of emotions including sadness, anger, self-directed hostility, and shame, and they tended to explain negative events in terms of internal, stable, and global causes. The similarity between depressed children and depressed adults on these measures was greater for girls than for boys. Depression was not related to performance on a verbal task, but depressed girls performed worse than nondepressed girls on a block design task. The measures of emotion experiences accounted for 78.1% and 46.1% of the variance in girls' and boys' depression scores, respectively, after the variance accounted for by attribution style was partialed out.     

BODY OBJECTIFICATION AND DEPRESSION IN ADOLESCENTS: THE ROLE OF GENDER, SHAME, AND RUMINATION

Objectification theory posits that the tendency to view oneself as an object to be looked at and evaluated by others negatively affects girls', but not boys', subjective well-being. Although it has been established that women self-objectify more than men, research in this area has been limited to the study of adult college women. The aim in the current longitudinal study was to investigate the role of body shame and rumination in the link between self-objectification and depression among a community sample of girls and boys at ages 11 and 13. Results indicated that adolescent girls reported higher levels of self-objectification, body shame, rumination, and depression than boys. The findings support a model in which body shame and rumination mediate a direct relation between self-objectification and depression among girls; developmentally, the gender difference in self-objectification appears before the gender differences in rumination and depression.     

Self-Reported Differences in the Experience and Expression of Anger Between Girls and Boys

Gender differences with regard to the emotion of anger were studied using elementary school-aged children in an urban, a suburban, and a rural school district. Both the suburban and rural samples were predominantly white (88% and 82%, respectively) while the urban sample was predominantly black (57%). Five hundred and fifty seven 4th and 5th grade children (287 boys and 270 girls) were given a self-report anger questionnaire. No significant differences were found between boys and girls in the self-reported total anger level However, item analysis indicated that some of the specific hypothetical situations that elicited anger differed in boys and girls. In addition, there were significant differences in the expression of anger between boys and girls. Consistent with previous research, boys reported significantly higher levels of aggressive responses. The location in which the children attended school emerged as an important variable with regard to the experience and expression of anger. As a group, urban youngsters reported significantly higher levels of anger than children who attended school in rural or suburban settings.     

Facets of loneliness and depression among Chinese children and adolescents

The authors examined the relation among different facets of loneliness and depression in a sample of 6,356 Chinese children and adolescents from Grades 4-9. Loneliness and depression were closely related among the primary (Grades 4-6) and secondary (Grades 7-9) students, both boys and girls. Although the different facets of loneliness were predictive of the various facets of depression, peer-related loneliness and aloneness were more predictive of depression in both groups than was parent-related loneliness. The students in Grades 5 and 6 scored lower for loneliness but a little higher for depression than did the students in Grade 4. The students in Grades 8 and 9 scored higher than the students in Grade 7 for loneliness and depression. The primary boys scored higher than the primary girls for both loneliness and depression. Among the secondary students, there was no difference between the scores of the boys and those of the girls for loneliness, but the boys scored lower than the girls for depression.     

初中生情绪反应、表达及其与攻击行为

运用自编的《中学生情绪评定问卷》和修订的Spielberger《状态——特质愤怒表达问卷》对833名普通中学初中生进行了测试,并用同伴提名的方法把学生分为普通组、身体攻击组和关系攻击组,探讨了初中生情绪反应、表达的特点和攻击行为学生情绪反应、表达的特点。研究结果表明:(1)初中女生报告的恐惧感、悲伤感高于男生,女生报告的愤怒表达也显著高于男生;但在特质愤怒方面,男生报告的特质愤怒水平显著高于女生。在情绪表达与反应的大多数方面不存在显著的年级差异,只在负性情绪表达方面初二女生报告了比初一、初三女生更高的负性情绪表达。(2)被同伴提名为身体攻击学生在状态愤怒、特质愤怒、愤怒表达方面显著高于普通学生,被同伴提名为关系攻击的学生在特质愤怒、愤怒表达方面也显著高于普通学生。攻击行为学生的愤怒情绪系统存在一定的缺陷。     

Stress,sense of coherence and emotional symptoms in adolescents

This paper aims to investigate the association between the domains of stress, sense of coherence (SOC) and emotional symptoms (depression and anxiety) in adolescents, as well as the potential moderating role of SOC on the relationship between stress and emotional symptoms. The study is based on a cross-sectional sample of 1183 adolescents aged 13–18 who attend public elementary and secondary schools in Mid-Norway. The results showed that girls scored higher than boys on stress related to peer pressure, home life, school performance, school/leisure conflict and emotional symptoms. Conversely, boys reported higher SOC than girls. Results from multiple hierarchical regression analyses showed that for boys, stress related to school performance was positively associated with symptoms of both depression and anxiety, whereas stress from peer pressure was associated with depressive symptoms. For girls, stress from peer pressure, romantic relationships and school was associated with more depressive symptoms. SOC was strongly and inversely associated with emotional symptoms, especially anxiety in girls. SOC also moderated the association between stress related to peer pressure and depressive symptoms in both genders. The study provides evidence of the association of SOC with stress and emotional symptoms during adolescence.     

Testing a Gender Additive Model: The Role of Body Image in Adolescent Depression

Despite consistent evidence that adolescent girls are at greater risk of developing depression than adolescent boys, risk factor models that account for this difference have been elusive. The objective of this research was to examine risk factors proposed by the gender additive model of depression that attempts to partially explain the increased prevalence of depression in adolescent girls. The theory suggests that body image and eating related variables predict depression for girls, but not for boys, above and beyond the variance accounted for by other well-known risk factors, some of which were examined in the current study. The sample was 247 adolescent girls and 181 adolescent boys studied over a 24-month duration. Results suggest that body dissatisfaction is a potent predictor of depression for girls, but not for boys, above and beyond the predictive effects of other established risk factors. Results provide insight into the etiology of adolescent depression and the disparate rate of depression among adolescent girls and provide direction for identifying high-risk individuals and developing effective prevention programs.     

The roles of sex, gender, and coping in adolescent depression

This study investigated the roles of coping and masculinity in higher rates of depressive symptoms among adolescent girls, as compared to boys. A model was designed and tested through path analysis, which involved the variables of sex, gender, problem-focused coping, rumination, and distraction. The Reynolds Adolescent Depression Scale and the Bem Sex Role Inventory, as well as a measure of coping with general stressors was completed by 246 adolescents. Results showed that adolescent girls were more depressed than boys, and that girls used more emotion-focused and ruminative coping than did boys. Greater degrees of ruminative coping were related to high levels of depressive symptoms. Problem-focused and distractive coping were positively correlated with masculinity and negatively associated with depression. Surprisingly, girls were more likely to use problem-focused coping. Problem-focused and distractive coping were found to mediate the negative relationship between masculinity and depression.     

Depression, suicide ideation, and aggression among high school students whose parents are divorced and use alcohol at home.

106 high school students from a small rural high school completed the Children of Alcoholics Scale, Zaks and Walters' Aggression Scale, Beck Depression Scale, and a modified version of the Beck Scale of Suicide Ideation. Analyses of variance showed boys were not experiencing suicide ideation any more than girls; suicide ideation was similar across the four grades, but on aggression alcohol-dependent boys scored significantly higher than girls, and in Grade 9 boys' scores were significantly higher than those in Grade 10. The sophomores' scores on alcohol dependency were significantly lower than the freshmen's scores. Boys and children from divorced homes had higher scores on aggression than girls and children from nondivorced homes. Children from homes in which alcohol was used had higher depression scores than children from nonalcoholic homes. Freshman girls and sophomore boys had higher depression scores than senior boys and girls. A Pearson r of 0.28 between scores on alcohol dependency and suicide ideation was significant, but research is needed to understand better the associations of thoughts of suicide and drug-alcohol dependency among these high school students so strategies for prevention and intervention can be focused.     

Children’s Attitudes toward Aggression: Associations with Depression,Aggression, and Perceived Maternal/Peer Responses to Anger

Little is known about factors that influence children’s attitudes toward aggression, despite evidence that these attitudes are influential in promoting violent behaviors. The purpose of the present research was to examine the relation of self, peer, and parent social factors to school-age children’s maladaptive attitudes toward aggression. Specifically, symptoms of depression, peer overt aggression behaviors, and perceptions of maternal and peer responses to anger were evaluated as important factors associated with the use of aggression. These factors were examined separately for boys and girls, as research has consistently documented gender differences in the form and use of aggression. Hierarchical regression models were computed separately for boys and girls in grades three through five (N?=?167), with child-reported depression, peer-nominated overt aggression, and child-reported maternal and best friend responses to anger examined as predictors of maladaptive attitudes toward aggression. For girls, depressive symptoms positively predicted maladaptive attitudes toward aggression. For boys, the extent of peer-reported overt aggression (positively) and child-reported supportive maternal responses to the child’s anger (negatively) predicted maladaptive attitudes toward aggression. The value of examining social factors that relate to attitudes toward aggression is discussed as well as consideration of gender differences in these relations. In addition, discussion includes how these results highlight important targets for interventions that may be especially relevant for school-age girls and boys.     

Childhood disruptive behaviors and family functioning in clinically referred children: Are girls different from boys?

Baseline assessments of 4 to 8-year-old children, 26 girls and 101 boys, referred to outpatient treatment for disruptive behaviors, were examined, focusing on possible differences between the functioning of boys and girls and their families. Child variables included diagnostic information, measures of disruptive behaviors, social competence, and independent observations of child behaviors. A variety of family variables, such as information regarding parenting practices, parental stress, and depression were included. Teacher reports of disruptive behaviors and social competence at school were included. Teacher ratings of child functioning indicated that boys displayed significantly more externalizing behaviors and they were less socially competent than girls. Parents perceived both girls and boys as highly oppositional and aggressive, and generally speaking, differences were few. Nevertheless, the level of stress was higher in girls' than in boys' families, and mothers of girls reported of higher levels of depressive symptoms. Girls and boys did not differ regarding diagnostic status.     

Coping with anger-provoking situations: Young adolescents' theories of strategy use and effectiveness

The present study investigated young adolescents' beliefs about the use and effectiveness of their strategies for coping with anger. Our goal was to examine how variations in the event provoking anger (being hit vs. having rumors told about oneself), the level of anger reported in response to the event, and the gender of the subject were related to choices and effectiveness ratings of three types of coping strategies: expressive (hitting, yelling, displacing), avoidant (getting away, doing something fun, doing work), and approach (talking to the offender, talking to someone else, thinking about the problem). Gender, the provoking situation, and the level of reported anger were all found to be related to ratings of both the use and effectiveness of these three types of strategies, and the relationships included interactions among these factors. In the rumor situation, girls endorsed approach strategies more often than boys and expressive strategies less often than boys. In contrast, in the hit situation girls rated the expressive strategies more highly than did boys. Adolescents in the hit situation with high ratings of anger were more likely to endorse expressive strategies than were those who reported minimal anger in this situation, the latter favoring avoidant and approach strategies. These anger level effects were not apparent in the rumor situation. Overall, adolescents reported using the strategies rated effective and not using those they saw as less useful. In addition, when given the option of multiple responses, adolescents favored a sequence in which expressive strategies were selected first, followed later by approach strategies. However, this sequence, like the overall ratings of strategy use and effectiveness, varied with gender, the provoking situation, and the level of reported anger. Our findings highlight the complex nature of anger and anger control in early adolescence and point to the importance of context, both individual and situational, in understanding coping responses.     

受欺负对抑郁情绪的影响:悲伤、愤怒反刍的中介作用及性别差异

为探究受欺负对于个体抑郁情绪的影响,以及反刍这一认知因素在其中的作用与性别差异,采用受欺负问卷、儿童应对方式问卷中的悲伤反刍分量表、愤怒反刍问卷、儿童抑郁量表对2582名初中二年级学生（男生1328人,女生1254人;平均年龄13.95岁,SD=0.60）进行问卷调查。结果发现：（1）受欺负与悲伤反刍、愤怒反刍、抑郁情绪均呈显著正相关;（2）受欺负、悲伤反刍、愤怒反刍均可显著正向预测个体的抑郁情绪,且悲伤反刍和愤怒反刍在受欺负和抑郁情绪的关系中发挥部分中介作用;（3）该模型存在性别差异。女生悲伤反刍对抑郁情绪的预测作用显著大于男生。研究从悲伤反刍和愤怒反刍的角度揭示了受欺负对青少年抑郁情绪的作用机制,为从认知水平上干预青少年心理健康问题提供了参考。     

Co-occurring delinquency and depressive symptoms of adolescent boys and girls: a dual trajectory modeling approach

Co-occurring trajectories of delinquent behavior and depressive symptoms and their correlates were examined in a longitudinal sample of 985 middle-adolescent boys and girls (mean age = 15.54 years at Time 1). Dual trajectory analysis was used to identify the co-occurring trajectories. For boys (n = 472), 4 delinquency and 4 depression trajectory groups were found. For girls (n = 513), 3 delinquency and 3 depression trajectory groups were identified. The linkage between co-occurring trajectories was higher for girls than for boys. Stressful life events and childhood precursors of the outcomes predicted trajectory group membership for both genders fairly consistently. Findings suggest heterogeneity in developmental courses of delinquent behavior and depressive symptoms across adolescent boys and girls.     

On the relationship between locus of control, level of ability and gender

In a sample of Norwegian 14- and 15-year-old students no significant relationship was found between total externality-internality score and level of ability. However, a significant relationship was found between ability and a subscale of locus of control related to degree of belief in the impact of school effort. The analyses of gender differences showed that girls had significantly higher total internal locus of control scores than boys. Boys were, however, significantly more internally oriented than girls on a subscale related to the respondents' general belief in luck, while girls were significantly more internally oriented than boys on a school effort scale. The present study does not support the notion that girls develop an attributional pattern which is more closely related to their abilities while boys may develop a broader attributional pattern.     

Understanding the Sex Difference in Vulnerability to Adolescent Depression: An Examination of Child and Parent Characteristics

This study examined sex differences in risk factors associated with adolescent depression in a large sample of boys and girls. Moderation and mediation explanatory models of the sex difference in likelihood of depression were examined. Findings indicate that the factors associated with depression in adolescent boys and girls are quite similar. All of the variables considered were associated with depression, but sex did not moderate the impact of vulnerability factors on likelihood of depression diagnosis. However, negative self-perceptions in the domains of achievement, global self-worth, and physical appearance partially mediated the relationship between sex and depression. Further, girls had higher levels of positive self-perceptions in interpersonal domains that acted as suppressors and reduced the likelihood of depression in girls. These findings suggest that girls' higher incidence of depression is due in part to their higher levels of negative self-perceptions, whereas positive interpersonal factors serve to protect them from depressive episodes.     

Prediction of toddlers’ expressive language from maternal sensitivity and toddlers’ anger expressions: A developmental perspective

Despite evidence for the importance of individual differences in expressive language during toddlerhood in predicting later literacy skills, few researchers have examined individual and contextual factors related to language abilities across the toddler years. Furthermore, a gap remains in the literature about the extent to which the relations of negative emotions and parenting to language skills may differ for girls and boys. The purpose of this longitudinal study was to investigate the associations among maternal sensitivity, children's observed anger reactivity, and expressive language when children were 18 (T1; n = 247) and 30 (T2; n = 216) months. At each age, mothers reported on their toddlers’ expressive language, and mothers’ sensitive parenting behavior was observed during an unstructured free-play task. Toddlers’ anger expressions were observed during an emotion-eliciting task. Using path modeling, results showed few relations at T1. At T2, maternal sensitivity was negatively related to anger, and in turn, anger was associated with lower language skills. However, moderation analyses showed that these findings were significant for boys but not for girls. In addition, T1 maternal sensitivity and anger positively predicted expressive language longitudinally for both sexes. Findings suggest that the relations between maternal sensitivity, anger reactivity and expressive language may vary depending on the child's developmental stage and sex.     

Verbalized anger and accusatory "you" messages as cues for anger and antagonism among adolescents.

This study investigated the impact of communications of negative feelings between adolescents in close relationships. High school boys and girls were asked to imagine discussing a relationship problem with a personally close partner and to rate likely reactions to four kinds of statements: assertively expressed distress, assertively expressed anger, aggressively expressed distress, and aggressively expressed anger. Accusatory "you" statements were rated as more aversive and evoked stronger antagonistic response inclinations than assertive "I" statements. Statements depicting anger were rated as more aversive and evoked stronger antagonistic response inclinations than statements depicting distress. Results were similar for boys and girls. Implications of the findings and directions for further research are discussed.     

The association between stress,self‐esteem and depressive symptoms in adolescents

This cross‐sectional study investigated gender and age differences on domains of stress, self‐esteem and depressive symptoms, as well as the association between those domains using a sample of Norwegian adolescents (N = 1,239). The data was analysed using Pearson product moment correlation, t‐tests, and hierarchical multiple regression analyses. The results showed significant differences between genders. Girls scored higher on five of seven stressor domains comprising peer pressure, home life, school attendance, school/leisure conflict and school performance as well as depression, while boys scored significantly higher on self‐esteem. The hierarchical multiple regression analysis showed that higher stress from school performance and school attendance related significantly to more depressive symptoms in both genders. Additionally, stress of home life significantly related to more depressive symptoms in girls, whereas stress of peer pressure was significant in association with depressive symptoms in boys. A strong, inverse association was found between self‐esteem and depression controlled for stress, especially in girls. Self‐esteem was not found to be a moderator of any stressor‐depression interactions. In conclusion, the results give support for the significant role of stress and self‐esteem on the experience of depressive symptoms in adolescents.