Emotion Reactivity and Reward Sensitivity Differentiate Associations Between Major Depressive Disorder Symptoms and Self-and-Other Directed Violence
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Abstract
Although depression has been linked to other-directed violence (ODV) and self-directed violence (SDV) in previous research, less is known about whether individual-level factors may modulate this association. This study examined i) whether major depressive disorder (MDD) symptoms were uniquely associated with ODV and SDV after accounting for externalizing psychopathology and ii) whether trait reward sensitivity and emotional reactivity moderated the association between MDD symptoms and violence directed toward others or the self. In a sample of 480 community adults (M/SDage = 32.21/10.47, 53.5% female), MDD symptoms were positively related to ODV and SDV above and beyond externalizing psychopathology (e.g., substance use disorder); however, these relationships differed as a function of reward sensitivity and emotion reactivity. Specifically, we found that the association between MDD symptoms and ODV depended on the level of trait reward sensitivity, such that higher depressive symptoms were associated with violence towards others only among individuals with low reward sensitivity. Further, the association between MDD symptoms and SDV depended on emotional reactivity levels, such that more depressive symptoms were related to engagement in SDV for individuals high on emotional reactivity. Together, these findings build on previous literature by demonstrating the importance of considering divergent individual-level factors in the context of MDD for self-and-other-directed violence, an insight that can inform prevention and intervention efforts.