Anger Expression and Guilt among adults with Depression

Abstract

Background: Depression is a form of anomalous variation in the mood with guilt being an intrinsic part of it, either symptomatically or as a concealed feature. Every individual suffering from Depression has divergent ways of expressing their anger. The present study has focused on the relationship between anger expression and guilt among persons with Depression.  Materials and Method: It’s a cross-sectional institution based study. 60 Persons with Depression of both sexes were selected through purposive sampling method, aged between 18- 50, who has attended the Institute of Psychiatry, Kolkata. After obtaining the socio-demographic & clinical details participants were assessed by using the Beck Depression Inventory, State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory, Revised Mosher Guilt Inventoryanalyzed using SPSS 25. Result: Results showed that those with a higher level of hostility guilt express their anger more inwardly and those with lesser hostility guilt express their anger more outwardly. It was also found that those who have higher guilty conscience have more severe Depression. Conclusion: In Depression guilt in various form has its own reaction on the way sufferers expresses their anger. Hence proper medication, therapy & family support may prove effective to deal with Depression.

Keywords: Depression, anger expression, guilt