Anger, hostility, and depression in assaultive vs. suicide-attempting males
✍ Scribed by Roland D. Maiuro; Michael J. O'Sullivan; Mark C. Michael; Peter P. Vitaliano
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 1989
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 860 KB
- Volume
- 45
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0021-9762
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
Hostility and depression were examined in male psychiatric patients who exhibited either assaultive (n = 40) or suicide-attempting behavior (n = 20). Both groups were compared to a sample of nonviolent males (n = 22) to provide a basis for interpreting the absolute as well as relative magnitude of these variables in relation to their violent behavior. Both suicide-attempting and assaultive patients were characterized by high levels of hostility and depression, as evidenced by significantly higher scores than those of the nonviolent group on almost all indices. Assaultive subjects evidenced relatively greater overt expression, frankly assaultive impulses, and verbalized anger and hostility. Suicide-attempting subjects tended to experience anger and hostility in a more intropunitive and covert manner and displayed higher levels of guilt and depression. Covariance analyses indicated that anger and depression contributed separately to the affective configuration of the assaultive and suicide-attempting groups.
Suicidal and assaultive behaviors have been identified as high priority issues for mental health researchers and clinicians. Both have been described as destructive, lifethreatening acts that frequently are resorted to in an impulsive manner (Chiles, Strosahl, Cowden, Graham, & Linehan, 1986;Holland, Beckett, & Levi, 1981). However, investigators typically have focused upon one or the other of these behaviors, and few studies have compared individuals who have engaged in suicidal or self-harming behavior with those who exhibited assault problems.
Existing comparative studies have investigated demographic, historical, and diagnostic variables (Tardiff & Sweillam, 1980), but typically have not assessed affective characteristics. In discussing the limited insights gained from the study of historical and demographic data, a number of investigators have suggested that a more advantageous approach would be to identify and quantify prominent clinical and emotional variables to help establish specific targets for intervention (Bennum, 1983;Craig, 1982;Rossi et al., 1986). In the present study, hostility and depression were identified as variables of interest given their conceptual relationship to emotional instability and impulse dyscontrol.
It long has been theorized that hostility plays a key role in both assaultive and suicidal behavior (Abraham, 191 1; Freud, 1917 Freud, /1957)). Clinical studies of assaultive individuals have identified problems commonly related to suspiciousness and hypersensitivity, undercontrolled anger, hostility directed toward others, a tendency to project blame upon others, and a lack of guilt or remorse (Megargee, 1966;Reid, 1978). Recently, a number of investigators also have suggested that depression may be an important characteristic of assaultive individuals (Maiuro, Cahn, Vitaliano, Wagner, & Zegree, 1988; Rosenbaum & Bennett, 1986). In a study of 89 women and 11 men imprisoned for aggressive and antisocial behavior, Good (1978) observed that depressive states often were underdiagnosed in offender populations. In a review of 53 violent, male psychiatric cases,