THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PSYCHOLOGICAL PARTNER AGGRESSION AND DEPRESSION: SOCIAL SUPPORT AS A MODERATING VARIABLE

Abstract

The association between psychological aggression within heterosexual couples and the level of depression symptoms was explored in addition to whether or not that association was moderated by the level of perceived social support from friends. Secondary analyses were conducted on assessment data from both males and females in 406 heterosexual couples who sought conjoint therapy at the Center for Healthy Families, a university-based marriage and family therapy clinic. Psychological aggression was assessed using the Multidimensional Measure of Emotional Abuse Scale (MMEA; Murphy and Hoover, 1999); depression was assessed using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI; Beck, Steer & Brown, 1996); and social support was assessed using the Perceived Social Support Scale (PSS; Procidano & Heller, 1983). Findings support the hypothesis that the more psychological aggression the individual received, the higher their symptoms of depression were; however there was not a significant finding that social support served as a moderator of that association. Furthermore, there were no significant findings for the research questions, which addressed gender-based differences in the degree to which social support moderates the effects of depression and psychological aggression.