Anger and major depressive disorder: The mediating role of emotion regulation and anger rumination

Many studies have documented the existence of a close relationship between anger and depression. Furthermore, recent literature has emphasized the role of impaired emotion regulation and anger rumination in depression. The aim of this study was to explore the mediating role of emotion regulation and anger rumination on the relation between anger and major depressive disorder. Eighty-eight patients with major depressive disorder (20 males, 68 females) completed the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), the Multidimensional Anger Inventory (MAI), the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ), and the Anger Rumination Scale (ARS). Results illustrated that in clinically depressed people, there are positive relationships between anger, depression, emotion regulation, and anger rumination. Path analysis revealed that emotion regulation and anger rumination played a mediating role on the relation between anger and major depression. Anger was associated with depression via emotion regulation and anger rumination. Findings of the present study suggest that emotion regulation and anger rumination play an important role on the relation between anger and depression. The current study implicates the complicated nature of depression, and emphasizes the understanding and conceptualization of diverse variables that influence depression.

► Major depression is associated with anger.
► Impaired emotion regulation and anger rumination play a mediating role on the relation between anger and depression.
► Improvement of emotion regulation strategies and reductions in anger rumination may reduce the risk of new onsets of major depressive episodes.