Anger Expression, Depression, Anxiety and Stress among Turkish Students Living in Turkey and Germany

Abstract

In the present cross-sectional, descriptive study, different dimensions of anger and symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress were evaluated in a group of Turkish students in grades 9-12 who were living in Turkey (N= 442) and Germany (N=320). Depression-Anxiety and Stress Scale-42 (DASS-42) and Multi Dimensional Anger Scale (MDAS) were used. Students living in Turkey had higher scores of anxiety and stress than those living in Germany. Scores of anger symptoms were found to be higher among students in Turkey. Being belittled, transgressed against and criticized were found to be important anger eliciting situations. Among students in Germany, aggressive and revengeful reactions were higher among males than females whereas in Turkey no gender differences were found. Passive-aggressive reactions were higher among female students in Turkey whereas in Germany no gender differences were found. All of the scores for the subscales of MDAS increased with the increasing grades of the students.