Anger rumination in the context of high anger and forgiveness

Abstract

Psychological problems involving anger detract from personal well-being, and one cognitive process bearing on anger dysregulation is rumination. Rumination can affect anger's time course and create a mental space in which retaliation can be imagined and scripted. How variable anger rumination is among people who are prone to anger has not been previously addressed. Psychological distress variables pertinent to anger rumination have often not been controlled, and thoughts of revenge should be separately partitioned. We examined the variability of anger rumination in conjunction with high anger disposition, defined by two separate instruments. In high anger subsamples, we tested dispositional forgiveness as a mitigator of anger rumination, controlling for anxiety, depression, impulsivity, and perseverative thinking. Anger rumination varied greatly among those high in anger. Forgiveness, particularly of others, was significantly associated with anger rumination, controlling for the covariates. That significance remained, after removing “thoughts of revenge” from the anger rumination measure. We discuss further research directions and therapeutic intervention targets for anger rumination among people having anger control problems.