Emotional awareness and relational aggression: The roles of anger and maladaptive anger regulation

Abstract

Based on the I3 theory of aggression (Finkel & Hall, 2018), in two studies, we examined the emotional awareness as an inhibitory control factor in predicting reactive relational aggression, aggression-impelling traits (dispositional anger) and diminished inhibitory control (maladaptive anger regulation), in a non-clinical samples of 218 and 103 Polish adults. In study 1, using cross-sectional design, we showed that dispositional attention to emotions correlated negatively with anger suppression, while emotional clarity correlated negatively with both trait anger and anger suppression. Reactive relational aggression was positively linked to anger, whereas it was negatively associated with attention to emotions, emotional clarity and anger suppression. Anger suppression mediated the effects of attention to emotions on relational aggression. In study 2, we used an imagined provoking scenario. Dispositional emotional awareness was related to anger intensity experienced after provocation and anger regulation (suppression, rumination and experimental avoidance). Anger intensity and anger regulation affected situational involuntary attention to emotions after provocation which was alone a significant predictor of relational aggression. Facets of emotional awareness (both dispositional and situational) had differential effects on relationally aggressive behavior and anger regulation.