Covert Hostility Research Articles

Age differences in hostility among middle-aged and older adults.

Multiple measures of hostility were administered to middle-aged and older volunteers. There was a positive association between age and self-report measures reflecting hostile beliefs about others, including cynicism and suspiciousness. There was a weak inverse relationship between age and self-report measures of the overt expression of anger and aggression, but no association between age and measures of covert hostility was found. There was a positive relationship between age and an assessment of hostile behavior that was based on the respondent's interaction style during an interview. The magnitude of these age trends did not differ between men (n = 50) and women (n = 75). These findings illustrate the multidimensional nature of hostility. They also have practical implications for older people because hostility is associated with psychological well-being and has been shown to have consequences for health and longevity.

Development of Covert and Overt Hostility Scales from the Buss-Durkee Inventory

The purpose of this study was to develop covert and overt hostility scales from the Buss-Durkee Inventory. First, 22 covert hostility and 29 overt hostility items were identified by the authors. Second, an item analysis was done to assess the content saturation of the individual items on these scales. This analysis yielded the final form for 7 items for covert hostility and 14 for overt hostility. Cronbach alphas for the covert and overt scales were .67 and .77, respectively, and their intercorrelation was .08. Correlations for these Buss-Durkee scales with several existing measures of anger expression were consistent with expectations.

Cardiovascular reactivity, hostility, and family history of hypertension.

This study was conducted to evaluate the relations between cardiovascular reactivity and two types of hostility, namely, overt expression of hostility in contrast to the covert experience of hostility. Diastolic blood pressure reactivity was associated with not overtly expressing hostility. For persons with a parental history of hypertension, systolic blood pressure (SBP) reactivity was associated with low scores on the covert hostility measure of irritability, while for persons without a parental history of hypertension, SBP reactivity was associated with high scores for irritability. The results are discussed in light of research in the area of cardiovascular reactivity and stress-related cardiovascular disease.

Power, Prestige, Profit: AIDS and the Oppression of Homosexual People

Scientific discussion about homosexuality is often a mixture of science, myth, religion, politics and emotion. Homosexual behaviour has been variously defined as sick, criminally deviant and heathen, its participants in need of punishment, cure and control In the 1980s, with the appearance of the deadly AIDS virus, this overt and covert hostility has gained new impetus. Not only are gays a threat to a multitude of 'decent' values in society, they are also a threat to the 'decent' members of society. Alongside control-talk the new virus has provided a challenge to the medical profession. Careers and monetary gain can be made out of AIDS The news media received its cut by exploiting public curiosity and fear and by satisfying the need for villains and heros, entering and feeding the general rush for emotion, using and being used, all for profit Struggle for expertise means defining out the perceived competition and alternative viewpoints. An attempt by the medical profession to define the AIDS issue as a medical problem has, above all, to do with power, prestige and especially profit. In the middle of all these secondary issues, those suffering from AIDS or fearing it, tend to be forgotten.

A guide to the literature on aggressive behavior

A guide to the literature on aggressive behavior

Sex-role and eating behaviors among college women

According to one theory, compulsive eating among most women represents an unconscious rejection of the roles and behaviors traditionally perceived as “feminine” by our society. To examine this issue, 162 college women were surveyed with self-report measures assessing sex-related attributes, covert hostility, compulsive eating, and dieting. Results contradicted the theory: Though compulsive eaters tended to perceive themselves as relatively low in feminine qualities, they desired to be more, rather than less, feminine. In contrast, restrictive dieters perceived themselves as being relatively high in feminine traits. Demographic and experimental variables together accurately predicted 27% of the variance in the Compulsive Eatirig Scale, 17% of the variance in the Dieting Scale. Compulsive eating and dieting were each associated with the perception that mother had played a relatively traditional feminine role within the family. Need for Social Approval emerged as a variable of paramount importance, both in relation to compulsive eating and in relation to subjects' perceptions of sex-typed attributes. In toto, results suggested that compulsive eating may have been a response to feelings of inadequacy, and that dieting was inherent in “femininity,” as it was defined by young adults.

Depression: influence of hopelessness, locus of control, hostility and length of treatment.

Depression is recognized as a serious problem, but there are numerous and conflicting theories and studies about symptoms and correlates of depression. This study was intended to help reduce the confusion by examining the relationships of the criterion variable, depression, to seven predictor variables, hopelessness, external locus of control, personal responsibility of external locus of control, general hostility, overt hostility, covert hostility, and length of treatment. Over 50% of the variance of depression was explained by hopelessness, 7% of the remaining variance was explained by covert hostility and approximately 1% was explained by length of treatment. These findings support the views of depression in which hopelessness and covert hostility are regarded as important correlates of depression. No relationship between depression and overt hostility was noted, suggesting that advocating outward expression of hostility will not alleviate depression.

Type A-B behavior and the overt and covert hostility levels of college students.

As a means of providing psychometric validation of Friedman and Rosenman's (1977) clinical observation that Type A individuals show excessive levels of covert hostility, groups of Type A and Type B students were tested with the Buss-Durkee (1957) Hostility Inventory. Type A students expressed higher levels of hostility than the Type B students. However, this difference was due primarily to the relatively greater level of overt hostility of the Type A group. These groups did not differ in level of covert hostility.

36 ASSESSMENT OF HOSTILITY IN ADOLESCENT CANCER PATIENTS

The degree of hostility encountered in adults with malignancies and its relationship to length of survival has been noted by a number of investigators. Although it has been generally assumed that hostility levels in teenagers are higher than in adult populations, this issue has not been assessed in adolescents with neoplasia. 17 adolescent cancer patients ages 13-18 were evaluated with a structured interview and a standardized self-administered affect scale, the Brief Symptoms Inventory. All patients knew their diagnosis and were not considered to have behavior or compliance problems. Thirty adolescents without chronic illness who presented to a general adolescent clinic served as controls. 8 of 17 cancer patients were >1 S.D. above the mean on the hostility dimension compared with 8 of 30 controls. Hostility was not apparent on interview or in patient behavior and was only detected by the testing instrument. Mean scores for oncology patients on the hostility dimension were significantly higher for males, patients hospitalized when tested and patients with both biologic parents in the home. Patients with intact families frequently mentioned being overprotected by parents and feeling they were a financial and emotional burden. There were no significant differences for blacks vs whites, newly diagnosed patients vs those in relapse, and patients with leukemia/lymphoma vs bone sarcoma. The degree of covert hostility present in adolescents with malignancy must be appreciated in order to impact upon compliance, patient comfort and survival.

Societal Reaction and the Response to Deviation in Small Groups

This article demonstrates the potential of small group laboratory research for attacking some of the theoretical and methodological problems currently confronting the societal-reaction perspective in the field of deviance. The results of small group research by Schachter, and Sampson and Brandon are reinterpreted within a conceptual framework derived from the societal-reaction literature. These two studies suggest that inclusive reactions to deviance attempt to control deviation through intense interactional pressure, accompanied by relatively low attitudinal hostility toward the deviant. Exclusive reactions to deviance reject the deviant as an outsider and are characterized by low levels of interaction, but high levels of covert hostility. Inclusive reactions tend to occur when deviance is attributed to a particular situation, whereas deviance attributed to the character of the deviant tends to result in exclusive reactions. While labeling theorists have contributed a number of insights as to the social processes involved in deviance, they have not been much concerned with developing a clear and rigorous formulation of their theoretical position (Gibbs, 1966, 1972; Schur, 1969); or with adequate empirical evaluation of it (Davis, 1972; Gove, 1970; Mankoff, 1971; Ward, 1971). Until we overcome these deficiencies, the ideas of the societal-reaction perspective are not likely to generate a soLind cumulative tradition of theoretically oriented research. This article will argue that small group laboratory research is a potentially valuable tool for sharpening the attack on certain theoretical issues raised by the societal-reaction perspective. Small group research has been used effectively to stLidy a variety of social differentiation processes, such as status structure development and role differentiation (cf. Cartwright and Zander, 1968; Hare et al., 1965). This methodological strategy seems no less applicable to processes of societal reaction, particularly because of the emphasis placed by labeling theorists on the analysis of deviance as an interactional product. The small group laboratory enables more detailed and reliable observation of interactional processes than is achieved by the impressionistic and loosely structured research techniques typically used by those favoring the societal-reaction perspective (Davis,

Effects of diphenylhydantoin on anxiety and hostility in institutionalized prisoners

1. (1) In a double-blind, drug-placebo study, a group of 42 emotionally disturbed, male criminals incarcerated at a treatment center with an average age of 25 ± 6 and an average educational level of 8 ± 2, were randomly assigned for a 6-month period to 300 mg of diphenylhydantoin daily by mouth or to a placebo in the form of 24 mg of diphenylhydantoin daily. 2. (2) Five-minute tape-recorded speech samples, elicited by standardized instructions to “talk about any interesting or dramatic life experiences,” were obtained before drug administration and for a 6-month period postdrug. The typescripts of these speech samples were blindly scored, by content analysis technicians unfamiliar with the purpose or nature of this study, for anxiety, total hostility outward, overt hostility outward, covert hostility outward, hostility inward, and ambivalent hostility according to the method of Gottschalk (Gottschalk and Gleser, 1969; Gottschalk et al., 1969). 3. (3) There were no significant differences between the drug and placebo groups in the magnitude of these anxiety or hostility scores over the 6-month period, as assessed by comparison of the slopes for all the affect scores overtime. 4. (4) These findings confirm the observations of several other investigators that diphenylhydantoin has a weak effect, if any, as an antianxiety or antihostility agent, even when administered over a 6-month period of time of a group of aggressive, antisocial, criminal offenders. 5. (5) The relationship and relevance of scores of psychological states derived from the content analysis of speech to manifest behavior is dicussed.

The intrafamilial transmission of rheumatoid arthritis—IV: Recalled parent-child relations by rheumatoid arthritics and controls

The study is based on data from three survey interviews, taken four months apart, on adults over 30 yr old. Subjects were drawn both from a National sample of the United States and a Clinic sample in Ann Arbor. The results indicate that females with rheumatoid arthritis, in contrast to controls without RA, reported mothers who were more arbitrary in authority, and toward whom the daughter felt more covert hostility but showed less overt aggressiveness. Nevertheless, RA females rated their mothers as strong role models as did the non-RA women. No such differences with the father were evident. Female RA's also showed the lowest childhood self-esteem score, compared to female controls and males. By contrast, RA males reported a more positive image of the mother toward whom less covert hostility was felt. No such differences in the father-child relations were seen.

The intrafamilial transmission of rheumatoid arthritis—VIII: Summary of findings

A SAMPLING of 49 family clusters consisting of a key person with arthritis, his (her) spouse, a sibling and the sibling’s spouse, 2 cousins, and an unrelated individual were interviewed three times with regard to their arthritis and a variety of social and psychological factors. The sample was drawn in part from a national random sample and in part from an arthritis clinic. A detailed interview measure was developed in order to classify respondents with regard to rheumatoid arthritis. It is estimated that this Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) Measure has a sensitivity of 86 per cent and a specificity of 98 per cent. Altogether 324 respondents, 169 men and 155 women, are involved in this study. Of these, 66 are classified as having RA: 49 women and 17 men. Of the 49 key persons, 43 were eventually classified as having RA; the additional 23 RA’s were other members of the family clusters. The results of this study do not support the conclusion that heredity is an important feature of the etiology of rheumatoid arthritis. However, a number of social-pshycological factors were revealed as contributing to the disease. These results are summarized for women and men separately, inasmuch as important sex differences exist. Women with RA are more likely to come from homes which were high on parental status stress, i.e., high discrepancies between the several social status indicators of mother and father, than are women without RA. Moreover, the RA women recall their mother’s authority and disciplining as much more arbitrary (unreasonable, severe, irritable, and controlling); their reaction to such arbitrary authority was high covert hostility but very low overt resistance and aggressiveness. In spite of this negative picture of the mothers, the RA women chose them as often for role (identification) models, as did the women without RA. The descriptions of the father’s behavior and reactions to him showed no differences between RA’s and non-RA’s.

Overt and covert hostility in repressers and sensitizers.

Repressers describe themselves as less hostile and aggressive than Sensitizers. How do they compare on the covert (projective) and overt (behavioral) expression of hostility? Repressers, Sensitizers and Control Ss did not differ in the expression of hostility on the Rorschach test. However, in the same Ss, after group discussion, Repressers were rated by experienced judges as more hostile and aggressive than Sensitizers in their interpersonal behavior.

DIRECTION OF HOSTILITY AND PSYCHIATRIC SYMPTOMS.

It was hypothesized that the direction of hostility was related to neurotic and psychotic trends. To determine psychiatric symptoms and assess the direction of hostility 24 Ss were tested. It was found that, while the neurotic trends correlated with covert hostility, psychotic signs were related to overt hostility.