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Does Depression Predict Violent Behavior? A Review of the Methods and Results of Longitudinal Studies
1Department of History, Sociology and Anthropology, Southern Utah University, Cedar City, UT, USA ostrowsky@suu.edu.
Abstract:
Depression and violent behavior are serious concerns around the world. The aim of this article is to review the methods and results of longitudinal research on whether depression predicts violent behavior. Six databases (PubMed, PsycINFO, Criminal Justice Database, Sociology Database, Gale, and JSTOR) were searched using the search terms "longitudinal" and "depress*" and "violen*." A total of 36 articles were included in this review. The key finding to emerge from this review is that research on whether depression predicts violent behavior has yielded mixed results. More specifically, 11 studies found that depression predicts violence, 12 studies discovered that depression does not predict violence, and 13 studies offered mixed evidence. This review offers several possible explanations for the inconsistent results, as well as numerous suggestions for future research.
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