Although depression is characterized as an """"""""internalizing"""""""" disorder, often it is associated with increased rates of conflict, aggression, and violence.
The aims of this study are to examine the association between depression and violence in families with depressed caregivers.
The first aim was to replicate and extend the findings that suggest that parental conflict is associated with depression.
The second aim was to explore some of the mechanisms by which children of depressed parents acquire coercive conflict tactics. The source of data is the fourth assessment period of a longitudinal study of the children of depressed (unipolar or bipolar; N = 40) depressed and well (N = 24) mothers. Two pairs of adolescent siblings from each family participated in this study. The Straus Conflict Tactic Scale (form N), a scale that addresses interpersonal conflict within the family was administered to the mother (self-report and report of spouse's conflict tactics) and to the pairs of adolescent siblings from each family. The instrument is composed of three scales: reasoning, verbal aggression, and physical aggression. Overall, most parents reported using reasoning and verbal aggression to handle a dispute. Fewer parents reported using physical aggression. Depressed mothers were more aggressive with their spouses than well mothers. Also, spouses of depressed mothers were more aggressive toward their mates than spouses of well mothers. Ten of the families in the maternal depression group and none of the families in the well group reported physical violence toward their spouses. Children of depressed parents did not differ from controls on their conflict tactics. Within the families with a depressed mother, children exposed to violence between their parents were more likely to solve conflict with physical aggression than children not exposed to violence between their parents. There was also evidence for gender specific mode of transmission for conflict resolution strategies. The results are consistent with an observational learning explanation for the acquisition of aggressive strategies for handling interpersonal conflict and have implications for intergenerational transmission of aggression.
