EN
Studies have shown that both expressing uncontrolled anger and suppressing anger are related to depression. Taking the latter into consideration, we explored another possible mechanism that could be used to predict the level of depression – the consistency between desired and undertaken behaviour. In Study 1 (N = 270) we tested whether depressive symptoms are related to emotional reactions in provoking or frustrating situations. The results revealed that higher levels of sensitivity to provocations and to frustrations contributed to higher levels of depression. In Study 2 (N = 195) we applied quantitative and qualitative analyses to test whether the severity of depressive symptoms could be predicted by the consistency of what people desire to do and how they actually act, when exposed to frustrating and provocative situations. The results showed that higher perceived consistency was related to lower levels of depression. The results are discussed in terms of the psychodynamic theory.