You do not currently have permission to view the full text for this document. Please sign in to an account with an active subscription or contact support.
This study investigated Freud's theory of depression as aggression directed toward the self (1930). While considered by many to be a basic tenet of psychoanalytic theory, the relationship between internally directed aggression and depressive symptoms lacks strong empirical validation and runs the risk of being overlooked due to economic and political factors. Using existing data from the Twin and Offspring Study in Sweden (TOSS), we examined the relationship, in adults, between depressive symptoms and different forms of aggression.
The TOSS sample was drawn from the Swedish Twin Registry (Lichtenstein et al. 2003) and consists of 544 pairs of adult twin women, their male partners, and adolescent children (one per couple) and 317 pairs of adult twin men, their spouses, and adolescent children (one per couple), resulting in a total sample of 861 pairs of twins and their families (5,166 individuals). Assessment included a wide range of relationship, personality, and mental health questionnaires. For the purposes of this study, we examined the responses of the adult twins’ (1,722 individuals) to two of the questionnaires administered; the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (Radloff 1977), measuring depressive symptoms and the Karolinska Scales of Personality (Schalling and Edman 1993), measuring externally and internally directed aggression.