[Relationship between depression and anger in patients with antisocial personality disorder].

OBJECTIVE This study examined the relationship between aggression and depression in male antisocial patients with and without comorbid depression and in normal control subjects. METHOD Seventy-two antisocial patients were evaluated for depression using SCID. The antisocial patients were treatment-seeking soldiers, mostly substance use is recruited from military hospitals. The control group consisted of forty age and sex matched subjects. Twenty of these antisocial patients were diagnosed with depressive disorder (major depression or dysthymia). In order to assess aggression and depression the Beck Depression Inventory and the State-Trait Anger Scale (STAS) were used. RESULTS Antisocial patients with depression and without depression had higher trait anger, anger-in and anger-out scores than the controls. Antisocial patients without comorbid depression had lower scores than the antisocial patients without depression in the anger control subscales of STAS. On the other hand, in this subscale, scores of the antisocial patients with depression did not differ from those of the normal controls. Correlation analysis revealed a significant positive relationship between BDI scores and trait anger, anger-in and anger-out scores. CONCLUSION The result of our study did not fully support the view of depression which assumes that depressive disorder is related to anger and hostility at least in antisocial patients. According to our results higher anger scores and lower anger control scores were related to being antisocial rather than being depressive and also not only suppressed anger but also outwardly expressed anger were increased in depressive antisocial patients.