Date of Award

2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Philosophy (Ph.D)

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Tamara Del Vecchio

Second Advisor

Robin Wellington

Third Advisor

Wilson McDermut

Abstract

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a highly prevalent, chronic, and impairing disorder, with prevalence rates estimated between 8–16%. Research suggests that MDD is associated with poor couple outcomes, including greater intimate partner violence (IPV) and decreased relationship satisfaction. Therefore, it is important to elucidate what conditions increase risk for IPV to better understand its etiology. One potential mechanism, emotional flooding, has been consistently associated with aggression but has not been examined as a potential factor in the relation of depression and aggression. Additionally, executive function (EF) deficits have been implicated with aggression, and studied individually in relation to depression, but extant research has not examined how EF deficits may operate in dyadic contexts in couples with depression. The current study examined whether emotional flooding mediates the relationship between depression and IPV, and whether EF moderates the path from depression to flooding. Participants included 245 undergraduate students and 107 non-college young adults in romantic relationships who completed task measures of EF and self-report questionnaires on depression, flooding, physical, and psychological aggression. Results found that flooding significantly mediated the effect of depression on both physical and psychological aggression. EF did not significantly moderate the direct path from depression to flooding, although small but significant moderated indirect effects were observed across EF domains for both aggression outcomes. The three-way interaction model was nonsignificant. These findings suggest that emotional flooding is a key mechanism linking depression to IPV, regardless of EF abilities, highlighting the importance of addressing flooding in interventions for couples with depression. While EF did not moderate the direct effect, further research is warranted to explore its role in samples with greater depressive severity or higher aggression levels.

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