Comparative study of hostility in depressive patients with and without a suicide attempt history

Hostility in association with depression seems to be connected to suicidal behavior. This study aimed to evaluate hostility and its dimensions in relation to depression in patients who suffered from diagnosed depression with and without a suicide attempt history. The study included 168 participants; 58 patients with depression and suicide attempt history, 55 patients with depression without a suicide attempt history and 55 healthy controls. Hostility was assessed with the Hostility and Direction of Hostility Questionnaire, while depression with the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). Patients with depression and a suicide attempt history compared with the patients without attempt history presented statistically significantly higher total hostility (28.71 ± 6.43 vs 24.20 ± 7.66), extroverted hostility (17.16 ± 4.37 vs 14.15 ± 4.63), acting out hostility (6.03 ± 2.09 vs 4.73 ± 1.93), and self criticism (6.95 ± 2.12 vs 5.89 ± 2.32). No statistically significant differences were found between the two clinical groups in depression according to the BDI. Moreover depressive patients with suicide attempt history scored higher in all the hostility dimensions than the controls. Therefore, it could be suggested that hostility and especially its extrapunitive dimensions are associated with suicidal behavior, since no differences in depression were recorded between the two clinical groups.     

Affect and depression in the elderly

Depression is considered one of the most complex mental disorders in the elderly. The diagnostic difficulties due to comorbidity, especially, with somatic diseases, have cast doubt on the use of diagnostic instruments for the elderly. In the present study, we try to determine the existence of differences in affect of third-age depression with respect to adult-age depression. For this purpose, the PANAS-X scale was administered to 120 subjects (30 depressive patients over 65 years old, 30 depressive patients between 25 and 50, and two control groups of 30 people each). The data allow us to establish two major differences of depression in the elderly compared to depression in adults: a lower intensity of negative affect and a lower intensity in the affects of fear, hostility and guilt. We can also conclude that sadness is not a differentiating element between both depressive groups.     

Buffalo Creek Survivors in the Second Decade: Comparison with Unexposed and Nonlitigant Groups1

This study investigated the second-decade effects of the Buffalo Creek dam collapse and flood that occurred in West Virginia in 1972. One hundred twenty-one survivors who had participated in an earlier lawsuit against the coal company that built the collapsed dam were compared to 78 nonlitigant survivors on self-reported symptoms, clinical ratings, and diagnoses. A nonexposed sample from a geographically and culturally similar neighborhood was investigated as well. Findings showed no differences between the litigant and nonlitigant survivor groups. The survivor groups together showed higher rates of anxiety, depression, and hostility symptoms and diagnoses than the nonexposed sample. The findings were discussed in the context of the nature of the traumatic event, social and cultural influences on recovery, and the constellation of symptoms which differentiated the groups.     

Parental Hostility and Depression as Predictors of Young Children's Aggression and Conduct Problems

Parental hostility and parental depression are associated with childhood behavior problems, but these have been studied independently in the literature. This study examined the relationships between parental hostility and depression and childhood aggression and conduct problems. Parental hostility was hypothesized to predict children's current and future (two months later) aggression and conduct problems. Participants were primary caregivers of children 0 to 10 years of age. Results indicate that hostility is a better predictor of present and future childhood aggression and conduct problems than depression. Implications of this finding for preventing and treating childhood aggression and conduct problems are discussed.     

Hostility in the real world and online: the effect of internet addiction, depression, and online activity

Hostility online has not been evaluated by an empirical investigation. This study aims to evaluate (a) the difference between hostility in the real world and that online and (b) whether the difference is associated with Internet addiction, depression, or online activities. A total of 2,348 college students (1,124 males and 1,224 females) were recruited and completed the Chen Internet Addiction Scale, the Center for Epidemiological Studies' Depression Scale, and the questionnaire for online activity. Further, the Buss-Durkee Hostility Inventory-Chinese version-short form was utilized to evaluate hostility in both real and virtual worlds. The results demonstrated that the levels of all four dimensions of hostility were lower when getting online than those in the real world. Subjects with Internet addiction had higher hostility both in the real world and online as do subjects with depression. Further, college students with Internet addiction had increased expressive hostility behavior and those with depression had decreased hostility cognition, hostility affection, and suppressive hostility behavior when getting online. Lastly, the buffering effect of the Internet on hostility was attenuated among subjects paying the most online time in chatting, and those using the Internet mainly for online gaming had higher expressive hostility behavior not only in the real world but also online. These results suggest that attention should be paid to interventions concerning aggressive behavior among subjects with Internet addiction or online gaming and chatting. On the other hand, depressed college students would be less hostile after entering the Internet. It is suggested that the Internet would be one possible interactive media to provide intervention for depression.     

A Multitrait Multimethod Measurement Approach to the Traits (or States) of Anxiety,Depression and Hostility

This study tested the convergent and discriminant validities of various psychological techniques used for the measurement of the affects of anxiety, depression and hostility. The subjects were 29 psychiatric patients and 25 normal controls, all males. Subjects were interviewed and rated for the three affects and given an extensive battery of tests. Anxiety and depression measures from ratings, checklists, and questionnaires demonstrated good convergent validity but poor discriminant validity. The projective methods did not demonstrate much convergent validity. Hostility was separable from anxiety and depression but the tests showed poor convergent validity for hostility. In the normals, fantasy hostility (TAT) and admitted hostility (Multiple Affect Adjective Check List) showed some convergence, but in the patients there was no congruence between these two levels.     

Interpersonal precipitants and suicide attempts in borderline personality disorder

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is often characterized by multiple low lethality suicide attempts triggered by seemingly minor incidents, and less commonly by high lethality attempts that are attributed to impulsiveness or comorbid major depression. The relationships among life events, impulsiveness, and type of suicidal behavior has hardly been studied in BPD and mood disorders. This study compared depressed attempters with and without BPD to identify specific suicide precipitants and risk factors in BPD and their relationship to severity of suicidal behavior. Attempters with comorbid BPD and major depressive disorder (MDD) had a higher number of lifetime suicide attempts; made their first attempt at a younger age; reported more interpersonal triggers; and had higher levels of lifetime aggression, hostility, and impulsivity, compared with attempters with major depression only. Environmental triggers of attempts in BPD are more likely to be interpersonal stressors. Lethality of attempts in BPD plus MDD is equal to that in MDD only, indicating that the seriousness of precipitants is unrelated to the lethality of the suicidal behavior. The differences between groups suggest that risk assessment and treatment should target both depression and personality disorder in those with combined illness.     

From victim to victimizer: Hostility,anger, and depression as mediators of the bullying victimization–bullying perpetration association

The principal aim of this study was to test one cognitive (i.e., hostility) and two emotional (anger and depression) variables as possible mediators of the well-documented association between bullying victimization and bullying perpetration. Using data from the Illinois Study of Bullying and Sexual Violence (ISBSV), a sample of 718 pre-adolescent/early adolescent children (343 boys and 375 girls) provided self-report data in three waves, with six months between waves. Consistent with predictions, hostility and depression correlated equally well with prior bullying victimization but only hostility successfully mediated the relation between prior bullying victimization and subsequent bullying perpetration. Like hostility, anger successfully predicted bullying perpetration but unlike hostility it failed to mediate the victimization–perpetration association. Knowing that hostility provides a link between bullying victimization and bullying perpetration has both theoretical and practical implications. With respect to theory, the current results are largely consistent with the control model of criminal lifestyle development. From the standpoint of practice, intervention programs designed to address the cognitive construct of hostility, which appears to serve as a conduit through which bullying victimization leads to bullying perpetration, may not only help bullied children cope with the trauma of victimization but may also disrupt the victim to victimizer cycle responsible for creating an ever-expanding supply of new bullies.     

Indications of depression and distress in divorce and nondivorce children reflected by the Rorschach test

The appearance of depressive features, as reflected by responses to the Rorschach test, were explored in two groups of children from divorced and nondivorced families (referred to here as divorce and nondivorce children). The relationships between the depression scores and the children's hostility, aggression, and anxiety levels were also studied. The Rorschach Inkblot Test was individually administered to a nonclinical sample of 108 Swedish school children between 10 and 12 years old. The subjects constituted two groups, a divorce group (27 girls, 27 boys) and a nondivorce group (27 girls, 27 boys). Divorce children scored significantly higher on Exner's (1986) Depression Index than their nondivorce peers. Furthermore, divorce children with depressive features in their Rorschach responses were found to have a high level of hostility and aggression (as manifested in their Rorschach protocols), whereas no such associations were found among nondivorce children.     

Psychosocial correlates of eczema in a non-treatment-seeking population

Data from the Vietnam Experience Study were used to examine psychosocial correlates of eczema. Based upon the results of dermatologic examinations, three groups of male veterans were identified: (a) subjects with eczema (n = 80), (b) subjects with tinea (n = 282), and (c) subjects with no medical diagnosis (n = 176). These three groups were compared on measures of anxiety, depression, hostility, and social support. The Diagnostic Interview Schedule (Version III-A) was used to determine diagnoses of anxiety and depression and level of social support. MMPI Scales 2 and 7, the Wiggins content scale of Depression, and the Cook-Medley Hostility Scale were used to assess anxiety, depression, and hostility. Eczema subjects did not differ from tinea or no-disease control groups on dependent measures. These results are contrasted with previous studies of treatment-seeking patients, which showed greater prevalence of anxiety and depression among individuals with eczema. Directions for future research are suggested.This paper is taken from the first author's dissertation.     

Mood-states, recall and subjective comprehensibility of medical information in non-patient volunteers

Factors were investigated related to the comprehensibility, recall and retention of medical information, using non-patient volunteers. At the first session, subjective comprehensibility, immediate recall and the mood-states of anxiety, depression and hostility were measured. A week later recall, anxiety, depression and hostility were reassessed. In terms of percentages of idea-units recalled, immediate recall was 44% and delayed recall was 31%. Immediate (though not delayed) recall and also subjective comprehensibility were negatively correlated with both anxiety and depression as measured at the first, but not the second session, thus highlighting the primacy of immediate mood-state in influencing recall. There was no relation between subjective comprehensibility and either of the recall scores. The results imply that subjective comprehensibility and recall are relatively independent, a result apparently inconsistent with Ley's model of compliance, but suggest that both can be influenced by depressed or anxious moods. Taken together with other findings, our results could support a curvilinear relation between anxiety and recall. To maximize recall and comprehensibility, at least within a certain range of anxiety levels, anxiety and depression at the time the instructions are presented should be minimized. In a clinical setting, this may be relevant to improving patient compliance.     

Depression,anxiety, hostility,and physical health

This study assessed the relationship of depression, anxiety, and hostility to physical health in a multicultural student population (N=106). When controlling for a variety of demographic and health risk factors (viz., age, sex, body mass, smoking, alcohol, salt, caffeine, and exercise), hostility, depression, and anxiety were related to higher reported incidences of physical symptoms and somatic illness. Depression and hostility had the strongest relationships with physical health, although the most striking single relationship was between depression and illness. Results suggest that it may be premature to focus our attention on hostility in research on the personality-illness relationship. They also suggest that the health behavior model of the relationship between personality and disease does not provide an adequate explanation, since negative affect was significantly associated with illness even when controlling for a variety of health risk factors. This work was supported, in part, by an intramural grant from the University of Hawaii, #R511.     

Depression, anxiety, hostility, and physical health

This study assessed the relationship of depression, anxiety, and hostility to physical health in a multicultural student population (N=106). When controlling for a variety of demographic and health risk factors (viz., age, sex, body mass, smoking, alcohol, salt, caffeine, and exercise), hostility, depression, and anxiety were related to higher reported incidences of physical symptoms and somatic illness. Depression and hostility had the strongest relationships with physical health, although the most striking single relationship was between depression and illness. Results suggest that it may be premature to focus our attention on hostility in research on the personality-illness relationship. They also suggest that the health behavior model of the relationship between personality and disease does not provide an adequate explanation, since negative affect was significantly associated with illness even when controlling for a variety of health risk factors. This work was supported, in part, by an intramural grant from the University of Hawaii, #R511.     

Irrational Beliefs and Emotionality in Adolescents with and without Bronchial Asthma

Asthmatic adolescents (N = 129) between the ages of 12 and 18 were assembled into three groups on the basis of severity of illness and were compared with each other and with a fourth group of 74 healthy, nonasthmatic adolescents. Differences in selective cognitive (irrational beliefs) and emotional (anxiety, depression, and hostility) characteristics were examined. Multivariate analysis indicated that irrational beliefs in the importance of approval and the lack of control of emotions, along with self-reported anxiety, depression, or hostility, were strongly associated with disease severity. Whereas adolescents with mild asthma closely resembled the physically healthy comparison group, adolescents with moderate and severe asthma exhibited a cognitive-emotional complex that can be described as maladaptive or dysfunctional. Implications of these results for the treatment of asthma are discussed.     

Substance abuse in borderline personality disorder: clinical and etiological correlates.

This work examines differences between female borderline patients with and without substance abuse problems and between borderline patients from different treatment settings. A total of 64 female borderline patients were recruited from mental health services (n = 34) and addiction treatment services (n = 20); 35 had a substance abuse problem. Patient groups were compared with regard to both clinical and etiological factors using multivariate analysis of variance for 47 continuous variables and logistic regression for 15 dichotomous variables. Borderline patients with substance abuse problems reported less hostility, suspicion, and anger but more anxiety, insufficiency, and suicide attempts. Patients from addiction treatment services reported less avoidant and more antisocial behavior. The differences between borderline patients with and without substance abuse problems are limited in number and size. Therefore, there is no empirical justification for the exclusion of borderline patients with substance abuse problems from general treatment services or clinical trials.     

Early Exposure to Parental Depression and Parenting: Associations with Young Offspring’s Stress Physiology and Oppositional Behavior

Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis reactivity to stress is posited to play a role in the intergenerational transmission of risk for psychopathology and other negative outcomes in the offspring of depressed parents. We tested the hypothesis that the joint, interactive effects of exposure to parental depression during early childhood and parental hostility impact the development of young children’s stress physiology and early emerging behavior problems. A sample of 165 preschool-age children (81 boys, 84 girls), of whom 103 had a parent with a history of depression, was exposed to a stress-inducing laboratory task, and five salivary cortisol samples were obtained. Parents completed clinical interviews and an observational parent–child interaction task. We found that the offspring exposed to maternal depression during early childhood and whose parents displayed hostile parenting behaviors during an observational task evidenced high and increasing cortisol levels in response to a laboratory stressor. In addition, the total amount of exposure to maternal depression over the child’s life exerted a dose–response effect on the positive relation between parental hostility and child observed oppositional behavior. This study underscores the importance of the early rearing environment on young children’s stress physiology and early emerging behavior problems.     

Directory of Members of the Society for Projective Techniques as of March 1, 1964

The appearance of depressive features, as reflected by responses to the Rorschach test, were explored in two groups of children from divorced and nondivorced families (referred to here as divorce and nondivorce children). The relationships between the depression scores and the children's hostility, aggression, and anxiety levels were also studied. The Rorschach Inkblot Test was individually administered to a nonclinical sample of 108 Swedish school children between 10 and 12 years old. The subjects constituted two groups,, a divorce group (27 girls, 27 boys) and a nondivorce group (27 girls, 27 boys). Divorce children scored significantly higher on Exner's (1986) Depression Index than their nondivorce peers. Furthermore, divorce children with depressive features in their Rorschach responses were found to have a high level of hostility and aggression (as manifested in their Rorschach protocols), whereas no such associations were found among nondivorce children.     

Frustration Intolerance Beliefs as Predictors of Emotional Problems in University Undergraduates

The present study examined the relationship between Frustration Intolerance Beliefs as suggested by the Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy framework and emotional problems. Data were collected from 332 university undergraduate students (age 19–26) who completed Demographic Information Sheet, Frustration Discomfort Scale and three subscales of Brief Symptom Inventory including depression, anxiety and hostility. The current findings confirmed the association between frustration intolerance and irrational beliefs and their respective roles in psychological distress among non-clinical student population. Results indicated that FDS subscales were differently related to specific emotions as entitlement and emotional intolerance sub-scales were significantly positively associated with depression, anxiety, and hostility while achievement was significantly negatively associated with hostility. The study has implications for counsellors, school psychologists and policy makers as it highlights the importance of rational group and individual counselling of rational ideas to reduce the emotional problems of students hindering their educational and personal growth.     

Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis reactivity in the preschool-age offspring of depressed parents: moderation by early parenting

The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis is thought to play a role in the pathogenesis of depression. In the study reported here, we tested the hypothesis that parenting behavior moderates the relation between parents' lifetime history of depression and their offspring's cortisol reactivity to a psychosocial stressor. We exposed 160 preschool-age children to stress-inducing laboratory tasks, during which we obtained four salivary cortisol samples. Parents completed clinical interviews and an observational parent-child interaction task. The results confirmed our hypothesis: The offspring who evidenced high and increasing cortisol levels were those whose parents had a history of depression and demonstrated hostility toward their child. This moderating effect was specific to offspring who were exposed to maternal depression during the first few years of life. As do findings in animals, results of this study underscore the importance of the early rearing environment in the intergenerational transmission of stress sensitivity.     

高职大学毕业生的应对方式与心理健康的关系

以187名高职大学毕业生为被试,采用问卷调查法,对应对方式和心理健康的关系进行了探讨。结果表明:(1)高职大学毕业生应对方式的使用程度依次是解决问题、求助、幻想、逃避、合理化及自责。在解决问题上存在显著性别差异。求助和合理化因子存在显著专业差异。(2)高职大学毕业生心理健康的总体状况不容乐观。在抑郁和恐怖上存在性别差异。偏执因子的专业效应显著。强迫症状、人际敏感、抑郁、恐怖和精神病性的交互作用显著。(3)幻想、自责的应对方式与健康不良症状存在普遍关联。求助则反之。