Greater Anger Research Articles

Investigating the Relationship Between Mood and Driver Behaviors

Abstract: Introduction: Mood and emotion variously affect our behaviors. The present study examined the relationship between positive and negative affect and driver behaviors as well as the mediating role of perceived stress and driving anger. Method: A total of 369 drivers (age: M = 35.52, SD = 10.61) participated in the study by completing the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule, the Perceived Stress Scale, the Driver Anger Scale, the Driver Behaviour Questionnaire, and the Positive Driver Behaviour Scale. Results: Six serial mediation analyses revealed multiple mediations explaining violations the most and positive behaviors the least. Both positive and negative affects were associated with greater anger, leading to more violations. Moreover, positive affect was negative and negative affect was positively related to perceived stress, which in turn was related to increased violations. For positive behaviors, positive affect was associated with less perceived stress, which was associated with more positive behaviors. Conclusion: Moods and emotions reveal a tendency to behave in ways that can be dangerous to drivers and other road users. The study was particularly important because it was the first in the literature to examine positive and negative affect on driver behaviors, perceived stress, and driving anger.

Examining evidence of lung cancer stigma among health-care trainees.

Innovations in lung cancer control and care have started to transform the landscape of lung cancer outcomes, but lung cancer stigma and biases have been implicated as a deterrent to realizing the promise of these innovations. Research has documented lung cancer stigma among the general public and lung cancer survivors (self-blame), as well as clinicians across many disciplines. However, studies have not explored lung cancer stigma in health-care trainees. These data seek to address that gap and inform efforts to prevent the emergence or mitigate the presence of lung cancer stigma among future clinicians. Using clinical vignettes and a 2x2 factorial design, this investigation evaluated the impact of a history of smoking (yes vs no) and cancer diagnosis (lung vs colorectal) on perceptions of the described patient among 2 groups of preclinical health-care trainees (medical = 94 and nursing = 138). A charitable giving paradigm also asked participants to donate provided funds to 1 of 2 cancer advocacy organizations: one serving the lung cancer community and one serving the colorectal cancer community. In study 1, results revealed a consistent pattern of statistically significant and medium to large effect size differences regarding stigmatized perceptions (eg, higher stigmatizing behavior, increased pity, greater anger, and less helping) for individuals with a history of smoking but no reliable differences regarding cancer diagnosis. Analysis of data from nursing trainees in study 2 showed a similar pattern of statistically significant and medium to large effects pertaining to stigma behavior and perceptions of individuals who had a history of smoking depicted in the vignettes. The charitable giving paradigm did not identify any reliable difference between the groups in either study. Findings revealed a consistent pattern of health-care trainee perceptions that varied by smoking status but much less evidence that the cancer diagnosis contributed to different perceptions. This suggests that efforts to integrate consideration of stigma and biases in health-care training needs to adopt an approach that seeks to mitigate or eliminate stigmatizing perceptions and behaviors toward individuals with a history of smoking.

Voter emotional responses and voting behaviour in the 2020 US presidential election

ABSTRACT Political polarisation in the United States offers opportunities to explore how beliefs about candidates – that they could save or destroy American society – impact people’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviour. Participants forecast their future emotional responses to the contentious 2020 U.S. presidential election, and reported their actual responses after the election outcome. Stronger beliefs about candidates were associated with forecasts of greater emotion in response to the election, but the strength of this relationship differed based on candidate preference. Trump supporters’ forecast happiness more strongly related to beliefs that their candidate would save society than for Biden supporters. Biden supporters’ forecast anger and fear were more strongly related to beliefs that Trump would destroy society than vice versa. These forecasts mattered: predictions of lower happiness and greater anger if the non-preferred candidate won predicted voting, with Biden supporters voting more than Trump supporters. Generally, participants forecast more emotion than they experienced, but beliefs altered this tendency. Stronger beliefs predicted experiencing more happiness or more anger and fear about the election outcome than had been forecast. These findings have implications for understanding the mechanisms through which political polarisation and rhetoric can influence voting behaviour.

Parental Attachment and Psychosocial Adjustment in Adolescents Exposed to Marital Conflict.

(1) Background: Interparental conflict is a phenomenon that poses a serious threat not only to the quality of life of the couple but also to the father-child relationship, mother-child relationship, and well-being of adolescents. This study examined the difference in parental attachment and adjustment in adolescents exposed to marital conflict versus those not exposed to parental conflicts in low-income areas. (2) Methods: 67 adolescents involved in Child Welfare Services (CWS) in disadvantaged neighbourhoods in southern Spain were examined. The sample was split into two groups according to the exposure to marital conflict. Subsequently, differences between groups were analysed on father attachment, mother attachment, aggression, antisocial behaviour, and emotional intelligence. (3) Results: Primarily, the data showed significantly worse attachment with the father among conflict-exposed versus non-conflict-exposed adolescents. These results were not found for the attachment with the mother. Additionally, greater anger and worse stress management were found in conflict-exposed adolescents. (4) Conclusions: The results partially confirmed the spillover and compensatory hypothesis. Practical implications point out that developing preventive interventions that protect the father-adolescent attachment in situations of family conflict is recommended.

Facilitators and Barriers of Bystander Intervention Intent in Image-Based Sexual Abuse Contexts: A Focus Group Study with a University Sample.

Image-based sexual abuse (IBSA) encompasses the taking, sharing, and/or threatening to share nude or sexual images of others without their consent. The prevalence of IBSA is growing rapidly due to technological advancements, such as access to smartphones, that have made engagement in such activities easier. Bystanders offer an important means of intervention, but little is known about what facilitates or inhibits bystander action in these contexts. To address this gap in the literature, seven focus groups (n = 35) were conducted to explore the factors that facilitate and inhibit bystander action in the context of three different IBSA scenarios (taking, sharing, and making threats to share nude or sexual images without consent). Using thematic analysis, eight themes were identified, suggesting that the perceived likelihood of intervention increased with greater feelings of responsibility, empathy with the victim, reduced feelings of audience inhibition, greater feelings of safety, greater anger toward the IBSA behavior, closer relationships with the victim and perpetrator, the incident involving a female victim and male perpetrator, and perception of greater benefits of police involvement. These findings are considered alongside the physical sexual violence literature in highlighting the similarities and nuances across the different contexts. Implications for the development of policies and educational materials are discussed in relation to encouraging greater bystander intervention in IBSA contexts.

EEG abnormalities are not associated with poor antidepressant treatment outcome - A NeuroPharm study

EEG brain abnormalities, such as slowing and isolated epileptiform discharges (IEDs), has previously been associated with non-response to antidepressant treatment with escitalopram and venlafaxine, suggesting a potential need for treatment with anticonvulsant property in some patients. The current study aims to replicate the reported association of EEG abnormality and treatment outcomes in an open-label trial of escitalopram for major depressive disorder (MDD) and explore its relationship to mood and cognition. Pretreatment, 6 min eyes-closed resting-state 256-channel EEG was recorded in 91 patients with MDD (age 18–57) who were treated with 10–20 mg escitalopram for 12 weeks; patients could switch to duloxetine after four weeks. A certified clinical neurophysiologist rated the EEGs.IED and EEG slowing was seen in 13.2%, and in 6.6% there were findings with unclear significance (i.e., Wicket spikes and theta activity). We saw no group-difference in remission or response rates after 8 and 12 weeks of treatment or switching to duloxetine. Patients with EEG abnormalities had higher pretreatment mood disturbances driven by greater anger (p=.039) and poorer verbal memory (p=.012). However, EEG abnormality was not associated with improved mood or verbal memory after treatment. Our findings should be interpreted in light of the rarity of EEG abnormalities and the sample size. While we cannot confirm that EEG abnormalities are associated with non-response to treatment, including escitalopram, abnormal EEG activity is associated with poor mood and verbal memory. The clinical utility of EEG abnormality in antidepressant treatment selection needs careful evaluation before deciding if useful for clinical implementation.

Attitudes, Emotions, and Emotion Regulation as Underlying and In-The-Moment Predictors of Men’s Intentions to Perpetrate Sexual Assault: An Application of the I3 Model

ABSTRACT Sexual assault is a significant problem among young men, and several underlying and in-the-moment factors are associated with this behavior. However, research has not examined how underlying factors may influence men’s in-the-moment use of emotion regulation (ER) strategies, emotional experience during sexual situations, or intentions to perpetrate sexual assault. 187 young, single men from the United States who had sex with a woman in the past year completed questionnaires, projected themselves into hypothetical sexual scenarios, and indicated how they would behave when their partner withdrew consent during these scenarios. Participants were grouped into profiles of ER strategy use, which was used as part of a model predicting sexual assault perpetration. Specifically, men with greater hostility toward women were especially likely to use a “low acting with awareness, low resignation” profile, which was associated with greater anger, impulsivity, and intentions to perpetrate. This could be attributed to the increased cognitive load, increased rumination on their partner’s refusal, or increased drive to obtain sex associated with this profile. Future research should replicate these results in a more diverse sample, and examine the efficacy of interventions redirecting participants away from a “low acting with awareness, low resignation” profile on sexual assault prevention.

The role of emotions in public goods games with and without punishment opportunities

We consider the emotional correlates of activity in the Public Good game when monetary and non-monetary punishments are available, and when no punishment is possible. In our experiment, emotions are measured using Face Reading software that tracks the emotional content of facial expressions in real time. When no punishment is possible, greater anger and more negative emotional valence correlate with learning that one has contributed more than others. Lower valence and happiness, in turn, are associated with reducing one's cooperation in the next period. When non-monetary punishment in the form of expressed disapproval is possible, positive emotional valence is associated with cooperation, punishment of free-riders, and an increase in cooperation from one period to the next. Negative valence, on the other hand, is associated with the receipt of punishment, suggesting that the expression of disapproval inherent in the non-monetary punishment was well understood and had an effect on the emotions of the recipient. The data support the conjecture that the reinforcement that positive emotion provides is what allows non-monetary punishment to increase cooperation. In contrast, when monetary punishment is available, emotional correlates are less consistent, suggesting that monetary punishment is less reliant on emotions to be effective.

A longitudinal study of families created using egg donation: Family functioning at age 5.

Findings are reported from Phase 2 of a longitudinal study of family functioning in heterosexual-couple families with 5 year olds conceived using identity-release egg donation. Seventy-two egg donation families were compared to 50 in vitro fertilization (IVF) families (ethnicity: 93% White British) using standardized observational, interview, and questionnaire measures. There were no differences between family types in the quality of mother-child or father-child interaction, apart from lower structuring by fathers in egg donation families. Egg donation mothers and fathers reported higher levels of parenting stress and lower levels of confidence and competence than their IVF counterparts. Egg donation mothers reported lower social support and couple relationship quality, greater anger toward their child, and perceived their child as more angry and less happy, compared to IVF mothers. Egg donation fathers showed greater criticism and anger toward their child, less joy in parenting, and were less satisfied with the support they received, than IVF fathers. Children in egg donation families showed higher levels of externalizing problems than IVF children as rated by mothers, fathers, and teachers, whereas they were rated as having higher levels of internalizing problems by teachers only. Externalizing problems were predicted by mothers' lower initial social support, steeper increases in parenting stress and greater concurrent criticism, whereas internalizing problems were associated with poorer initial couple relationship quality as rated by mothers. Both were predicted by fewer gains in reflective functioning. There was a moderation effect such that parenting stress was a stronger predictor of externalizing problems for egg donation than IVF families. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Perceived friendships protect against the development of anger following childhood adversities in UK military veteran men residing in Northern Ireland

ABSTRACT Background: Experience of childhood adversity is associated with greater anger as an adult, particularly in men. Soldiers and veterans report higher incidence of adverse childhood experiences, many of whom also experience elevated rates of PTSD and anger. However, little is known about factors which may protect against the development of anger after experiencing childhood adversity. Objective: This study aims to assess the potential protective aspects of perceived social support in military veterans. Methods: Data from the Northern Ireland Veterans’ Health and Wellbeing Study (N = 590, Mage = 56) was utilised in regression models to examine perceived social support (family, friend, partner; MSPSS) as a moderator of the association between adverse childhood experiences (ACEQ-10) and anger (DAR-7). This sample comprised men who were UK Armed Forces veterans residing in Northern Ireland. Results: Significant interaction effects, visualised using interaction plots, were found between perceived friend support and both child abuse and household challenge. When men perceived high friend support, there was no association between child abuse or household challenge and anger. For veteran men who perceived the maximum amount of partner support, there was no association between child abuse and anger. Family support did not change the positive association between child abuse, child neglect or household challenge and future anger. Conclusions: This study indicates that it is especially important to foster supportive and empathetic friendships for men that have experienced adversity as a child, perhaps through programmes such as Men’s Sheds, as these friendships may alleviate the negative influences of child abuse and household challenge on anger.

Tired, angry, and unhappy with us: Poor sleep quality predicts increased anger and worsened perceptions of relationship quality

Existing research demonstrates that poor sleep is associated with lower perceptions of relationship quality. Poor sleep also predicts more intense experiences of negative affect, anger in particular. Greater anger is also tied to worse relationship outcomes. The current research explored the interplay among these factors across three studies: one correlational, one longitudinal, and one quasi-experiment (Total N = 695). We hypothesized that poorer sleep quality would predict worsened perceived relationship quality and increased anger. We also hypothesized that increased anger would account for the association between poorer sleep and reduced perceived relationship quality. Our hypotheses were supported.

Occupational Hazards in Corrections: The Impact of Violence and Suicide Exposures on Officers’ Emotional and Psychological Health

Correction officers work in an occupational context where they are often exposed to violence; however, prior research assessing the relationship between violence exposure and officers’ mental health has been limited. The current study sought to better understand the impact of direct and indirect exposure to violence and suicide on psychological health outcomes. Analyzing data from a random sample of 317 correction officers in Massachusetts, findings indicate that personally knowing other officers who died by suicide is associated with greater anger, anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Increased strain-based work–family conflict and departmental discipline were also associated with elevated symptomatology. However, other types of violence exposures, including being assaulted, witnessing staff assaults, and suicides among the incarcerated population, did not predict any outcomes. Furthermore, family support did not serve as a stress buffer for officers exposed to violence, but higher levels of family support were associated with decreased PTSD.

Athletic disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic negatively affect high school student-athletes social-emotional well-being.

To examine whether high school student-athletes who experienced more COVID-19 disruptions had increased anxiety, increased dejection, increased anger, decreased excitement, and decreased happiness as measured by the validated Sports Emotion Questionnaire (SEQ). During the COVID-19 pandemic high school student-athletes faced disruptions which resulted in cancelation of competitions, reduced in-person training sessions, and quarantine of athletes. The impact of these disruptions on the mental health and well-being of student-athletes is unknown. An anonymous cross-sectional online survey was electronically distributed to high school student-athletes in one school district during the spring of the 2020 to 21 academic year. Basic demographic questions, sport information, and personal and team disruptions were collected. Multivariate linear regression was used to assess correlation between each emotional domain on the SEQ with independent variables such as personal or teammate quarantines, cancelations, season, sport gender, indoor or outdoor location, and level of competition. 125 surveys were returned representing 28 different sports. Student-athletes who were personally quarantined (22.4%) during their athletic season experienced greater dejection (β = 0.78, P = .003) and greater anger (β = 0.78, P = .005). Those with teammates quarantined (61.6%) experienced more anxiety (β = 0.30, P = .048). Spring sports, which faced fewer restrictions, were associated with less anger (β = -0.48, P = .048). Student-athletes who were directly affected by COVID-19 disruptions experienced increased anxiety, more dejection, and more anger. Public health authorities and school districts should minimize disruptions to athletic participation using established COVID-19 safety protocols to avoid causing harm to athletes' social-emotional well-being. If athletics must be disrupted, student-athletes should receive wellness support and virtual or remote training options.

Frequency and correlates of suicidal ideation and behaviors in treatment-seeking Post-9/11 Veterans

ObjectivePost-9/11 U.S. veterans and servicemembers are at increased risk for suicide, indicating an important need to identify and mitigate suicidal ideation and behaviors in this population. MethodUsing data modeling techniques, we examined correlates of suicidal ideation and behavior at intake in 261 Post-9/11 veterans and servicemembers seeking mental health treatment. ResultsOur sample endorsed high rates of suicidal ideation and behavior. Approximately 40% of our sample scored in a range on the Suicide Behaviors Questionnaire-Revised (SBQ-R), indicating high clinical risk for suicide. Results from multivariate analyses indicate that greater state and/or trait depression severity, greater anger and anger expression, less impulse control, and lower rank were consistently associated with suicidal ideation and behavior across our models. Negative posttraumatic thoughts about the self, gender, and military branch of service were also significantly associated with suicidal ideation and behavior. ConclusionsSuicidal ideation and behaviors are common in veterans seeking mental health treatment. State and/or trait depression, anger and impulse control were predictors of increased risk for suicidal ideation and behavior across models. Consistencies and differences across models as well as limitations and practical implications for the findings are discussed.

Effects Of Covid-19 Sports Disruptions On Social-emotional Status Of High School Student-athletes

During the COVID-19 pandemic high school student-athletes were faced with numerous disruptions to their sport, including fewer scheduled competitions, fewer in-person training sessions, and cancelled competitions. Consequently, these disruptions may have had a negative impact on their mental health and well-being. PURPOSE: To examine the effect of sports disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic on the social-emotional well-being of high school student-athletes. METHODS: An anonymous online survey was distributed to 2068 high school student-athletes during the 2020-2021 academic year. The survey instrument included basic demographics, specific sports season information and personal or team quarantine disruptions. The Sports Emotion Questionnaire (SEQ) was also distributed as part of the electronic survey, with its five domains used as the dependent variables to assess emotions related to the specific sport season. RESULTS: Of the 125 completed questionnaires, 28 (22.4%) student-athletes reported being personally quarantined, 77 (61.6%) reported a team member being quarantined, and 23 (18.4%) reported not being able to complete their season. Multivariate linear regression revealed student-athletes quarantined during their athletic season experienced greater dejection (β = 0.78, 95% CI: 0.27-1.28, p = 0.003) and greater anger (β = 0.78, 95% CI: 0.24-1.32, p = 0.005) compared to those that were not. Those with a teammate quarantined experienced more anxiety (β = 0.30, 95% CI: 0-0.61, p = 0.048) compared to those that did not as presented in Table 1. CONCLUSION: Student-athletes who were directly affected by COVID-19 restrictions, experienced more anxiety, dejection, and anger regarding their sport compared to student-athletes who were not quarantined, did not have teammates quarantined, or those whose sport seasons were disrupted. Supported by Mayo Clinic Department of Family Medicine.

Anger can make fake news viral online

Fake news that manipulates political elections, strikes financial systems, and even incites riots is more viral than real news online, resulting in unstable societies and buffeted democracy. While factor that drives the viral spread of fake news is rarely explored. In this study, it is unexpectedly found that the easier contagion of fake news online is positively associated with the greater anger it carries. The same results in Twitter and Weibo indicate that this correlation is independent of the platform. Moreover, mutations in emotions like increasing anger will progressively speed up the information spread. Increasing the occupation of anger by 0.1 and reducing that of joy by 0.1 are associated with the generation of nearly six more retweets in the Weibo dataset. Offline questionnaires reveal that anger leads to more incentivized audiences in terms of anxiety management and information sharing and accordingly makes fake news more contagious than real news online. Cures such as tagging anger in social media could be implemented to slow or prevent the contagion of fake news at the source.

Protective and risk factors for increased alcohol use in Latinx college students on the U.S./Mexico border

Alcohol use is prevalent among undergraduates, however, limited research on drinking among Latinx college students exists. This study examined potential risk and protective factors of alcohol use and consequences. Participants (n = 382) completed multiple measures including alcohol use frequency and the Rutgers Alcohol Problem Index (RAPI). Linear regression models identified predictors of monthly and yearly drinking days and RAPI. Findings indicated that alcohol use frequency was associated with increasing age, parental alcohol use disorder, greater anger, and lower self-efficacy. Alcohol-related consequences were positively associated with anxiety and adverse childhood experiences. Early alcohol prevention and intervention efforts appear warranted.

Reckless spreader or blameless victim? How vaccination status affects responses to COVID-19 patients

BackgroundVaccination against Covid-19 has become an increasingly polarizing issue in western democracies. While much research has focused on social-psychological determinants of vaccine hesitancy, less is known about the attitudes and behaviors of the vaccinated populations towards those who are unvaccinated. Building on Weiner's attribution theory (2005, 1985, 1980), we predict that vaccination status determines the attribution of personal responsibility and blame in Covid-19 social dilemmas. This in turn explains people's affective and behavioral responses towards those who have fallen ill or infected others with COVID-19. ApproachThrough two preregistered experiments (total N = 1200) we show that people attribute greater personal responsibility when unvaccinated (vs. vaccinated) people fall ill from, or infect others with COVID-19. This attribution of responsibility manifested in less sympathy towards unvaccinated COVID-19 patients, which was associated with a lower willingness to help patients and their families (Study 1). Likewise, higher perceived responsibility results in greater anger towards unvaccinated people who had (involuntarily) infected others with the virus, which was associated with a greater desire for punitive actions (Study 2). ConclusionThese findings suggest that unvaccinated people experience blame as well as negative attitudes and behaviors from the vaccinated population. This could in turn strengthen people's refusal to get vaccinated and increase polarization between vaccine supporters and vaccine critics.

Narcissistic admiration and rivalry and reactions to romantic breakup

This study examined how narcissism, described by the Narcissistic Admiration and Rivalry Concept (NARC), relates to reactions to romantic relationship dissolution. 246 participants completed a survey assessing the NARC components, and measures concerning a specific past relationship: Emotional reactions immediately following breakup, perceptions of the ex-partner, responsibility for initiating and attributions of blame for problems leading to breakup. Narcissistic rivalry was associated with greater externalized (anger) and internalized (sadness and anxiety) negative emotion, while narcissistic admiration was associated with greater anger and less sadness. Narcissistic admiration was associated with more positive and rivalry with more negative trait perceptions of the ex-partner. Narcissism was unrelated to attributions of blame for the breakup or relationship problems, but admiration was associated with a greater role in initiating breakup.

Anger as a Mechanism of Injustice Appraisals in Pediatric Chronic Pain

Mechanisms explaining the relationship between pain-related injustice appraisals and functional outcomes in youth with chronic pain have yet to be examined. In studies of adults, greater pain-related injustice is associated with worse depressive symptoms and greater pain through greater anger. No study to date has examined anger expression as a mediator in the relationships between pain-related injustice appraisals and physical and psychosocial functioning in youth with chronic pain. The current sample consisted of 385 youth with varied pain conditions (75% female, 88% White, Mage=14.4 years) presenting to a university-affiliated pain clinic. Patients completed self-report measures assessing anger expression (anger-out and anger-in), pain-related injustice, pain intensity, functional disability, and emotional, social, and school functioning. Bootstrapped mediation analyses indicated that only anger-out (indirect effect= -.12, 95% CI: -.21, -.05) mediated the relationship between pain-related injustice and emotional functioning, whereas both anger-out (indirect effect= -.17, 95% CI: -.27, -.09) and anger-in (indirect effect= -.13, 95% CI: -.09, -.001) mediated the relationship between pain-related injustice and social functioning. Neither mode of anger expression mediated the relationship between pain-related injustice and pain intensity, functional disability, or school functioning. Collectively, these findings implicate anger as one mechanism by which pain-related injustice impacts psychosocial outcomes for youth with chronic pain. PerspectiveAnger expression plays a mediating role in the relationship between pain-related injustice appraisals and psychosocial outcomes for youth with chronic pain. Anger represents one target for clinical care to decrease the deleterious impact of pain-related injustice on emotional and social functioning.