Stress as a cause of depression among female prisoner and its effect towards aggressiveness

Abstract

Abstract: The objectives of this study are to examine the relationship between stress and depression, and to acquire the effect of depression towards aggression. The focus is on female prisoners in Peninsular Malaysia. Stress is suggested as one of the common causes for depression among female. Depression is a type of common mental health problems among female prisoners and is suggested to contribute to aggressive acts among them, which consequently may lead to criminal deeds. In many countries, studies regarding depression among offenders population are very common and the findings evidenced that depression is related to aggressiveness. The methodology of this study is designed based on cross-sectional study. Regression is used for data analysis. The finding shows that stress is strongly related to depression (p< .001) and thus can be regarded as a prominent contributor to depression among female prisoners. Consequently, depression is found positively related to aggression, particularly in anger (p< .05) and hostility (p< .001). Depression however does not contribute to physical and verbal aggression. As expected, depression contributes to aggression. In conclusion, stress strongly linked to depression and thus, may contribute to aggressive act among female prisoners.