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Depression and aggression are related to the risk of suicide. Previous studies have associated different characteristics with depression and aggression in separate gender groups. The main aim of this study was to investigate the gender differences in the predictive effect of depression and aggression on suicide risk among first-year college students. A total of 2004 first-year undergraduates (80.5 % female, mean age = 19.4 ± 0.8 years) were surveyed by a battery of questionnaires that contained the Chinese version of the Beck scale for Suicide Ideation, the Chinese version of the 12-item Aggression Questionnaire, and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale. (1) Depression severity was significantly associated with the suicidality risk (r = 0.090, p < 0.01). (2) Suicide risk correlated positively with physical aggression, verbal aggression, anger, and hostility in the aggression questionnaire (r = 0.308, 0.227, 0.284, 0.277, p < 0.01). (3) A possible gender difference was noted for suicide risk in that depression degree was a significant risk factor for females but not males (R2 = 0.095, F = 41.554, p < 0.01), whereas anger was a significant predictor of suicide risk for males but not for females (R2 = 0.21, F = 25.75, p < 0.01). Gender differences exist in the predictive effect of depression and aggression on suicide risk among first-year college students. • Revealing gender differences in the predictive effect of depression and aggression on suicide risk. • Providing theoretical guidance for preventing suicidal behavior among first-year college students. • Providing theoretical support for the targeted prevention of suicidal behavior among college students of different genders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The aim is to examine whether biomarkers of the immune-inflammatory response (IRS) and endogenous opioid (EOS) systems are associated with affective symptoms in schizophrenia.Methods: We recruited 115 schizophrenia patients and 43 healthy controls and assessed the Hamilton Depression (HDRS) and Anxiety (HAM-A) rating Scale scores as well as serum levels of interleukin (IL)-6, IL-10, eotaxin (CCL11), high mobility group box 1 (HMGB1), Dickkopf-related protein 1 (DKK1), and mu (MOR) and kappa (KOR) opioid receptors.Results: The HDRS and HAM-A scores are significantly and positively correlated with a) psychosis, hostility, excitation, mannerism, negative symptoms, psychomotor retardation, and formal thought disorders; and b) lowered scores on semantic and episodic memory, executive functions, and attention tests as measured with the Brief Assessment of Cognition in Psychiatry. Both HDRS and HAM-A are significantly increased in non-responders to treatment as compared with partial responders. Both affective scores are strongly associated with a latent vector extracted from all symptoms, reflecting overall severity of schizophrenia symptoms (OSOS), and neurocognitive test scores, reflecting a generalized cognitive decline (G-CoDe). The HDRS score was strongly and positively associated with IL-6, HMGB1, KOR, and MOR levels, and the HAM-A score with IL-6, IL-10, CCL11, HMGB1, KOR, and MOR levels. A single latent trait may be extracted from OSOS, G-CoDe, and the HDRS and HAMA scores, and this latent vector score is strongly predicted by HMGB1, MOR, and DKK1.Conclusion: Immune-inflammatory and EOS pathways contribute to the phenome of schizophrenia, which comprises OSOS, affective, and physiosomatic symptoms, and G-CoDe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Hostility and aggression have been found to be highly prevalent among depressed patients and are associated with higher comorbidity and illness severity levels. Although negative interpretation biases are a fundamental element of cognitive models of depression, few studies have examined the specific biases in information processing, mainly the hostile attribution bias, found in hostile individuals who present depressive symptoms.Method: Using pre-collected data from a sample of 72 (male=41,6%, female=58,3%) undergraduate and community-based hostile (n = 26) and non-hostile (n = 46) adult participants, the authors aimed to examine the association between depression and the hostile attribution bias by determining whether depression level scores were uniquely related to electrophysiological measures of the hostile attribution bias.Results: The hostile group showed higher measured levels of depression and reactive aggression compared to the non-hostile group. Also, depression scores were significant predictors of the N400 effect in the non-hostile task condition, while reactive aggression was not, whereas in the hostile condition, the overall model was significant, with depression and reactive aggression levels both showing strong trends towards significance.Limitations: A small sample size limited the scope of our conclusions. Also, sample selection prevented us from examining specific group differences regarding the hostile attribution bias in depressed and non-depressed groups.Conclusion: Clinical and research implications include the necessity to apply cognitive restructuring techniques to counter biased interpretation processes in settings where depression and aggression intersect, and the need to consider alternatives to self-evaluative methodologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Psychological factors such as hostility and depression have been associated with cardiovascular disease. However, their role in predicting incident cardiac events independently one of another is not clear.Methods: Among 10,304 GAZEL middle-aged workers free of cardiovascular diseases in 1993, 581 incident cardiac events were validated from 1994-2014. Hostile traits (cognitive hostility, behavioral hostility, irritability and negativism) were assessed with the Buss and Durkee Hostility Inventory at baseline. Depressive symptoms were assessed at baseline and every three years with the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression scale. We used Cox proportional hazards models to calculate hazard ratios (HR) of hostile traits for incident cardiac events adjusting for baseline self-reported socio-demographics and family history of coronary heart diseases (model 1), then additionally for time-dependent depressive symptoms (either as a binary or continuous variable) (model 2) and for yearly self-reported modifiable cardiovascular risk factors (physical activity, smoking, body mass index, diabetes, dyslipidemia and hypertension) (model 3).Results: In Model 1, the only hostile trait associated with incident cardiac events was irritability (HR for one interquartile range: 1.16, 95% confidence interval: 1.02-1.32). This association was no longer statistically significant when further adjusting for depressive symptoms. Depressive symptoms, in turn, remained significant predictors of cardiac events with HRs ranging from 1.40-1.49 (binary).Limitations: Hostility traits were measured only once.Conclusions: Depressive symptoms might explain the association between irritability and cardiac events and should therefore be prioritized in interventions aiming to prevent cardiovascular disease. Further research is needed to identify the mechanisms underlying this association. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Suicide rates are higher in veterans compared to the general population, perhaps due to trauma exposure. Previous literature highlights depressive symptoms and anger as contributors to suicide risk. PTSD symptoms may indirectly affect suicide risk by increasing the severity of such cognitive-emotional factors.Method: A sample of community dwelling veterans (N=545) completed online surveys, including the PTSD Checklist-Military Version, Suicidal Behaviors Questionnaire-Revised, Multidimensional Health Profile-Psychosocial Functioning, and Differential Emotions Scale -IV. Bivariate and serial mediation analyses were conducted to test for direct and indirect effects of PTSD symptoms on suicide risk.Results: In bivariate analyses, PTSD symptoms, depression, anger, and internal hostility were positively related to suicide risk. In serial mediation analyses, there was a significant total effect of PTSD symptoms on suicide risk in both models. PTSD symptoms were also indirectly related to suicidal behavior via depression and internal hostility, and via internal hostility alone. Anger was not a significant mediator.Limitation: Our cross-sectional sample was predominantly White and male; prospective studies with diverse veterans are needed.Discussion: Our findings may have implications for veteran suicide prevention. The effects of PTSD and depression on anger, particularly internal hostility, are related to suicide risk, suggesting a potential mechanism of action for the PTSD-suicide linkage. A multi-faceted therapeutic approach, targeting depression and internal hostility, via cognitive-behavioral techniques such as behavioral activation and cognitive restructuring, may reduce suicide risk in veterans who have experienced trauma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Research suggests an important relationship between interpretation bias, hostility and Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). Extant literature has yet to examine hostile interpretation bias in clinically depressed samples; the current studies sought to fill this gap.Method: Study 1 participants included undergraduates who met criteria for MDD (n=36) or no anxiety or mood diagnosis (n=35). Each participant completed a structured clinical interview along with measures of depression, hostile interpretation bias, and trait hostility. In Study 2, a sample of treatment-seeking individuals with elevated trait anger completed measures of depression, hostile interpretation bias, and trait anger.Results: Study 1 demonstrated that, relative to the non-depressed group, individuals with depression displayed greater hostile interpretation bias but comparable levels of trait hostility. In Study 2, greater hostile interpretation bias was associated with greater depressive symptoms, and this relationship was independent of co-occurring trait anger.Limitations: The correlational nature of these studies precludes interpretation of causal relationships between constructs. Additionally, replication of these results should be sought in a larger, more diverse sample.Conclusion: Overall, the findings suggest hostile interpretation bias may play a unique role in depression and could be a treatable feature of interpersonal mechanisms maintaining MDD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background While classification of the depression disorders currently favors a dimensional model, this study considered the empirical support for a spectrum model linking personality with phenotypic depressive features, specifically examining patients with ‘irritable’, ‘hostile’ and ‘anxious’ depression. Methods Pearson correlations were performed for Temperament and Personality (T&P) scales and state depressive patterns (irritable, hostile and anxious) for patients clinically diagnosed with unipolar melancholic and non-melancholic depressive conditions. Results Irritable depression was most strongly associated with T&P irritability and anxious depression with T&P anxious-worrying – although these associations lacked specificity and were also correlated with other T&P scales. Hostile depression was most strongly correlated with T&P irritability suggesting that hostile and irritable depression are synonymous patterns. There were no clear indications for more distinct associations for the non-melancholic, compared to the melancholic, subset. Limitations Study findings are limited in that measures of state depressive patterns were relatively minimalistic and assignment to melancholic and non-melancholic conditions was measured by clinician judgment and may be subjective in nature. Conclusions Findings offer little support in the positioning of anxious and irritable/hostile depression as meaningfully differing patterns, nor for the spectrum model being more specific to the non-melancholic depressive conditions. There would appear to be little utility in preserving these depressive patterns as diagnostic constructs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Objective: The 5-HTTLPR polymorphism has been associated both with depression and aggression/hostility. The multidirectional association between depression, aggression and the s allele may be important, since all these phenomena are related to suicidal behavior. Our aim was to investigate the association between 5-HTTLPR and aggressive/hostile traits in depressed patients and controls. Methods: 137 depressive and 118 control women completed the Buss–Durkee Hostility Inventory and were genotyped for 5-HTTLPR. BDHI scores in the different groups were investigated by Generalized Linear Model Analysis. Association between dependent and independent variables in the model was tested by the likelihood ratio Chi-square statistic. Results: Diagnosis and genotype showed a significant association with several aggressive/hostile traits. Interaction of the two main effects was also significant in case of several subscales. Post hoc analyses indicated a significant association between BDHI subscales and s allele only in the depressed group. Limitation: Only women were studied and since gender differences are present both in aggressive behavior and putatively in the behavioral effects of 5-HTTLPR genotype, our findings pertain only to females. Conclusion: Our results indicate a robust relationship between aggression/hostility and 5-HTTLPR genotype, but this association is more marked in the presence of depression. The presence of the s allele thus not only contributes to a higher risk of depression, but in depressives also leads to higher aggression/hostility. Our results have important implications for suicide research, since the s allele is associated with violent suicide, and this association may be mediated through the emergence of increased aggression/hostility in depressed patients carrying the s allele. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background: This study examined the relationship between five theory-based variables and the severity of depression. The variables were self-concept, self and spouse ascribed hostility, spouses’ level of depression, and involvement in home activities. Methods: Based on DSM-IV criteria and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) scores, 75 wife-depressed couples and 59 husband-depressed couples were included in the study. In addition to the BDI, both spouses completed questionnaires relating to self-concept, self- and spouse ascribed hostility, and involvement in home activities. Results: Multiple regression analyses for male and female patients and spouses revealed that in the four groups self-concept was significantly related to the severity of depression. Irrespective of clinical status, involvement in home activities was significantly associated with the severity of depression of women. The relationship between spouse ascribed hostility and the level of depression of both spouses in husband-depressed couples approached significance so did the relationship between patient’s and spouse’s level of depression in wife-depressed couples. In husband-depressed couples the association between spouses’ level of depression reached significance. Conclusions: The shared and gender-related predictors of severity of depression support an integrative theoretical approach to depression and offer practical implications. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]