Is Psychological Aggression as Detrimental as Physical Aggression? The Independent Effects of Psychological Aggression on Depression and Anxiety Symptoms

The differential effects of psychological and physical victimization on depression and anxiety symptoms were examined via APIM and growth curve modeling techniques in a sample of newlyweds (N = 103 couples) assessed four times over the first 3 years of marriage. On average, husbands and wives report...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Violence and victims 2009-01, Vol.24 (1), p.20-35
Main Authors: Lawrence, Erika, Yoon, Jeungeun, Langer, Amie, Ro, Eunyoe
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Aggression - psychology
Aggressiveness
Alcohol use
Anxiety
Anxiety - epidemiology
Anxiety - psychology
Behavioral Sciences
Counseling
Crime Victims - psychology
Crime Victims - statistics & numerical data
Criminology
Depression - epidemiology
Depression - psychology
Domestic violence
Female
Humans
Interpersonal Relations
Male
Marriage - psychology
Marriage - statistics & numerical data
Marriage and Family Counselling
Mental depression
Mental health
Personality disorders
Policy, Social Justice, and Human Rights
Psychology
Risk Factors
Social and Personality Psychology
Social Work
Spouse Abuse - psychology
Spouse Abuse - statistics & numerical data
Studies
Victims of crime
Women
Young Adult
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Summary:The differential effects of psychological and physical victimization on depression and anxiety symptoms were examined via APIM and growth curve modeling techniques in a sample of newlyweds (N = 103 couples) assessed four times over the first 3 years of marriage. On average, husbands and wives reported moderate levels of psychological aggression, and there were no sex differences in prevalence rates or mean levels. Changes in psychological victimization were associated with changes in depression and anxiety symptoms, even after controlling for the effects of physical victimization. This study demonstrates the severe impact of psychological aggression on its victims and expands on previous studies of battering samples to demonstrate that psychological victimization may be more damaging than physical victimization in nonbattering, community couples.
ISSN:0886-6708
1945-7073
DOI:10.1891/0886-6708.24.1.20