The role of anger and depression in recurrent headache

individuals with tension-type headache report significant anger, depression , anxiety, and stressors. However, it is not clear to what extent these var iables are interrelated. The objective of the present study was to explore the role of anger in headaches, and to examine its relationship to anxiety, depression, and daily life stressors. participants were 65 young adult wom en who suffered from recurrent headaches. The sample was obtained in a larg e-scale screening of young adult women using the Headache Symptoms List to identify those with recurrent headache. Those individuals reporting headach es completed a battery of assessment measures that included the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory, the Mood and Anxiety Symptoms Questionnaire, a nd the Hassles Scale. Results revealed a significant relationship between a nger suppression and depression (r= 0.40, P<.01), as well as anger expressi on and anxiety (r=0.41, P<.01) for those with headache. The use of the Mood and Anxiety Symptoms Questionnaire allowed for the separate analysis of ge neral distress symptoms and symptoms more specific to anxiety and depressio n. Results indicated that those with headache experience more general, nons pecific distress rather than symptoms indicative of anxiety and depression (P<.01). In addition, the mixed headache group scored high on both general (mean, 28.96) and specific measures of depression (mean, 65.76) and on ange r suppression (mean, 20.12), suggesting that they might experience more psy chological distress than those with tension-type headache. The present resu lts indicate the need to distinguish the unique dimensions of anxiety and d epression that should be assessed in the population with recurrent headache .