Higher Levels Of Anger Research Articles

Augmenting Anger Control Therapy with a Videogame Requiring Emotional Control: A Pilot Study on an Inpatient Psychiatric Unit

Emotional dysregulation in childhood, which has been linked to significant social problems in older adolescence, is one of the most common reasons for pediatric mental health treatment and psychiatric hospitalizations. Behavioral approaches to treatment for these disorders are limited, however, resulting in increasing use of restraints and psychotropic drugs. A pilot study was implemented on an inpatient psychiatric unit to evaluate feasibility and provide proof of concept for a novel behavioral intervention comprised of anger control therapy (ACT), a cognitive-behavioraltherapy intervention, augmented by RAGE-Control, a videogame that trains players to regulate physiological arousal in a challenging but controlled situation. Patients (N=18, 9-17 years old) with high levels of anger documented by the State Trait Anger Expression Inventory-Child and Adolescent (STAXI-CA) were enrolled in a 5-session intervention (Experimental group). Changes in STAXI-CA State-Anger and Trait-Anger scores from baseline to Day 5 were compared to those of a demographically comparable treatment as usual (TAU) historic control group (N=19). The Experimental group showed large reductions in STAXI-CA scores, compared to the TAU group. Compliance and satisfaction were high. These findings support the feasibility of the ACT with RAGE-Control intervention. Randomized controlled trials augmenting ACT with the RAGE-Control game are needed to establish efficacy.

Development of the Juvenile Justice Anger Management Treatment for Girls

Female juvenile offenders exhibit high levels of anger, relational aggression, and physical aggression, but the population has long been ignored in research and practice. No anger management treatments have been developed specifically for this population, and no established anger management treatments are empirically supported for use with delinquent girls. Thus, to alleviate anger and reduce the frequency and severity of aggressive behaviors in this underserved population, we developed the gender-specific, Juvenile Justice Anger Management (JJAM) Treatment for Girls. This cognitive-behavioral intervention was adapted from the Coping Power Program (Lochman & Wells, 2002), a school-based anger management treatment for younger children that has established efficacy and effectiveness findings with its target populations. This paper describes how the content of JJAM was developed to meet the unique needs of adolescent girls in residential juvenile justice placements. It also traces the process of developing a manualized treatment and the steps taken to enhance efficacy and clinical utility. An overview of the treatment, a session-by-session outline, an example session activity, and an example homework assignment are provided. A randomized controlled trial is currently being conducted to evaluate the efficacy of the JJAM Treatment for Girls.

The Link Between Negative Emotions and Eating Disorder Behaviour in Patients with Anorexia Nervosa

Several theoretical models suggest that deficits in emotional regulation are central in the maintenance of anorexia nervosa (AN). Few studies have examined how patients view the relationship between negative affect and anorectic behaviour. We explored how patients with AN manage the aversive emotions sadness, anger, fear and disgust, and how they link these experiences to their eating disorder behaviours. Qualitative data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 14 women aged 19-39 years diagnosed with AN (DSM-IV). Interviews were analyzed using Grounded Theory methods. The participants tended to inhibit expression of sadness and anger in interpersonal situations and reported high levels of anger towards themselves, self-disgust and fear of becoming fat. Different emotions were managed by means of specific eating disorder behaviours. Sadness was particularly linked to body dissatisfaction and was managed through restrictive eating and purging. Anger was avoided by means of restrictive eating and purging and released through anorectic self-control, self-harm and exercising. Fear was linked to fear of fatness and was managed through restrictive eating, purging and body checking. Participants avoided the feeling of disgust by avoiding food and body focused situations. Treatment models of eating disorders highlight the significance of working with emotional acceptance and coping in this patient group. Knowledge about how patients understand the relationships between their negative emotions and their anorectic behaviour may be an important addition to treatment programmes for AN.

부부갈등과 어머니의 분노 및 우울이 유아의 행동문제에 미치는 영향

This study examined the effects of marital conflict and mothers` anger and depression on the behavioral problems of preschoolers. A total of 393 mothers with 3-year-old preschoolers responded to questionnaires, which included items related to marital conflict, mothers` anger and depression, and their preschoolers` behavioral problems. Data were analyzed by means of structural equation modeling. The results indicated that marital conflict had no direct effect, but there were indirect effects on preschoolers` behavioral problems caused by mothers` anger and depression. Mothers who believed that they were experiencing high levels of marital conflict revealed high levels of anger and depression and reported higher rates of behavioral problems in their children. Mothers` depression also mediated the impact of marital conflict on preschoolers` behavioral problems, but mothers` anger level apparently did not. The effects of mothers` level of depression on preschoolers` behavioral problems were the highest among all the predictors. These findings imply that both improving marital relationships and regulating mothers` anger and depression levels need to be emphasized when designing prevention and intervention programs aimed at improving the behavioral problems of preschoolers.

The Role of Anger in Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Little is known about the role of anger in the context of anxiety disorders, particularly with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). The aim of study was to examine the relationship between specific dimensions of anger and GAD. Participants (N = 381) completed a series of questionnaires, including the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Questionnaire (GAD-Q-IV; Newman et al., 2002, Behavior Therapy, 33, 215–233), the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory (STAXI-2; Spielberger 1999, State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory-2: STAXI-2 professional manual, Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources) and the Aggression Questionnaire (AQ; Buss & Perry 1992, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 63, 452–459). The GAD-Q-IV identifies individuals who meet diagnostic criteria for GAD (i.e. GAD analogues) and those who do not (non-GAD). The STAXI-2 includes subscales for trait anger, externalized anger expression, internalized anger expression, externalized anger control and internalized anger control. The AQ includes subscales for physical aggression, verbal aggression, anger and hostility. The GAD-Q-IV significantly correlated with all STAXI-2 and AQ subscales (r's ranging from .10 to .46). Multivariate analyses of variance revealed that GAD analogues significantly differed from non-GAD participants on the combined STAXI-2 subscales (η2 = .098); high levels of trait anger and internalized anger expression contributed the most to GAD group membership. GAD analogue participants also significantly differed from non-GAD participants on the combined AQ subscales (η2 = .156); high levels of anger (affective component of aggression) and hostility contributed the most to GAD group membership. Within the GAD analogue group, the STAXI-2 and AQ subscales significantly predicted GAD symptom severity (R 2 = .124 and .198, respectively). Elevated levels of multiple dimensions of anger characterize individuals who meet diagnostic criteria for GAD.

The Relationships between Daily Acceptance and Rejection Experiences and Self-esteem and Aggression

This study examined the relationships between daily acceptance and rejection experiences and self-esteem and aggression. The participants were 251 undergraduate students. The results showed that rejection experiences predicted lower levels of self-esteem and higher levels of anger and hostility, and acceptance experiences predicted lower levels of physical aggression and hostility. These results were consistent with the findings of an experimental study of acceptance and rejection. The application of experimental findings of acceptance and rejection to daily events is discussed.

Response speed as an individual difference: Its role in moderating the agreeableness–anger relationship

Anger is an emotion that is precipitated by hostile attitudes and high arousal. The trait of agreeableness is a moderately inverse predictor of hostile attitudes and anger. Relations between agreeableness and anger are likely to be stronger to the extent that the person can be characterized as high in dispositional arousal. Arousal-related manipulations speed responses in cognitive tasks. Thus, individual differences in response speed may be informative concerning general tendencies toward aroused states. In three studies (N=319) individual differences in response speed in basic choice tasks interacted with agreeableness to predict state-related experiences of anger. Specifically, the highest levels of anger were observed among fast/disagreeable individuals. The utility of this probe in future studies is discussed.

Anger, dissociation, and PTSD among male veterans entering into PTSD treatment

Prior research suggests that dissociation and anger are risk factors for the development of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Research found that trauma survivors with higher levels of anger also report more severe PTSD overall. Studies also support a relationship between PTSD severity and dissociation. Only one prior study of sexual assault survivors by Feeny, Zoellner, and Foa (2000) examined the relationships among dissociation, anger, and PTSD. While Veterans have been found to report high levels of anger and dissociation, the relationship between these factors and PTSD has not been examined among Veterans. This paper examines the relationship among anger, dissociation, and PTSD in treatment-seeking Veterans who presented for evaluation at the PTSD Clinic in the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System during a four year period. Anger and dissociation predicted PTSD, hyperarousal, and avoidance/numbing severity while dissociation predicted intrusive severity. The implications of these results for clinical practice are discussed.

Separation recall: psychophysiological response‐patterns in an attachment‐related short‐term stressor

AbstractAttachment theory is a conceptual framework for emotional‐motivational behaviour and stress regulation in social relationships. However, few experimental studies have investigated attachment‐related autonomic stress responses in adults. In a sample of 50 healthy subjects, we investigated autonomic cardiovascular reactions and subjective stress‐load to a newly developed, attachment‐related short‐term stressor (separation recall, SR). The overall magnitude of the cardiovascular response to SR was comparable to the well established mental arithmetic (MA) stress test. However, the SR induced higher levels of sadness and impaired diastolic blood pressure recovery, whereas MA was associated with higher levels of anger and greater heart rate increase. Recovery scores to the attachment‐stressor but not the mental arithmetic were related to attachment avoidance as measured by self‐report, especially when taking into account the content of the reported episodes of the SR. In sum, our newly developed attachment‐related short‐term stressor has proven good performance in a first study. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Cynical Hostility, Anger Expression Style, and Acute Myocardial Infarction in Middle-aged Japanese Men

Studies using American and European populations have demonstrated that high levels of anger/ hostility are predictive of coronary heart disease (CHD) mortality. However, Japanese studies did not show consistent relationship between anger/hostility and CHD. This study examines the association of cynical hostility and anger expression style with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in middle-aged Japanese men through a case-control study. The patients with acute myocardial infarction (N = 96, mean age = 50.8 years) and the healthy participants in a health check-up program (N = 77, mean age = 50.3 years) were studied. Both groups completed the Cynicism Questionnaire (CQ) and the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory (STAXI). The patients exhibited higher scores on CQ than the healthy controls. Logistic regression analyses controlling for biological risk factors revealed that the CQ score was associated with increased risk of AMI (OR = 1.11 [95% CI 1.00–1.22]). In addition, the score of Anger-control, a subscale of STAXI, was associated with decreased risk of AMI (OR = 0.75 [95% CI 0.62–0.92]). These results indicated that higher levels of cynical hostility increased the risk of AMI and that anger-control strategies could have some benefit in reducing the risk of AMI in middle-aged Japanese men.

The Long Arm of Offspring: Adult Children’s Troubles as Teenagers and Elderly Parents’ Mental Health

Little research examines the longevity of the influence of children’s problems on parental well-being. Integrating stress process and life-course perspectives, the authors argue that children’s problematic experiences in adolescence have strong capabilities to influence parents’ mental health in late life, decades after these experiences occur. With a sample of 670 African American and White mothers and fathers age 65 and older, the authors show that elderly parents have higher levels of anger when their offspring had more difficulties as teens; for Black parents this association remains with controls for children’s problems as adults and current concerns about adult children, whereas for Whites it is mediated by concerns. Teen difficulties are also related to current depression for elderly Black but not White parents. This research adds to the literature on family, mental health, and aging by showing how psychological well-being in late life is in part a function of parenting experiences decades earlier.

Are the causes assigned to unsatisfactory performance related to the intensity of emotions experienced after competition?

This study explored the relationship between attributions and emotional responses to poor performance in golf. On the day of an important regional competition, 86 golfers reported their emotional states prior to competition and completed measures of attribution and emotion immediately after the competition. Our findings showed that after unsatisfactory performance, anger and dejection were significantly elevated whereas excitement and happiness were significantly reduced from pre-competition levels. Causal attributions contributed to the intensity of these emotions. High levels of anger emerged when poor performance was attributed internally, and intensified when the cause was also perceived as relatively stable over time. Golfers also reported higher levels of dejection and lower levels of happiness when the causes of poor performance were perceived as personally controllable and unstable than when the causes were perceived as personally controllable and stable. Our findings suggest that golfers’ emotions are intricately linked with the explanations provided for poor performance. In order to create effective emotion regulation interventions, sport psychology consultants should first consider the interactive nature of attribution dimensions.

Evaluation of cognitive responses to anger-provoking driving situations using the Articulated Thoughts during Simulated Situations procedure

The current study evaluated the utility of using videotaped driving situations to assess angry thoughts while driving using the Articulated Thoughts during Simulated Situations (ATSS) procedure. Ninety-eight undergraduate participants scoring at various levels on the Driving Anger Scale participated in a visual imagery procedure. Results indicated that there were strong situational differences in articulated statements; further, participants higher in driving anger endorsed higher levels of anger and articulated more aggressive statements and fewer anger control statements than did those low in anger. Findings are discussed from the perspective that the ATSS procedure can be effectively used in the assessment and treatment of problematic anger responses while driving.

Injury Patterns and Psychological Traits of Patients With Self-Inflicted Wounds Produced by Punching Glass

Self-inflicted injuries are among the preventable forms of hand injury. Psychologic factors underlying these injuries have not been studied sufficiently. This study aims to reveal the extent of injury and the morbidity as well as the psychologic factors in a population of patients who intentionally injured themselves by punching glass. Patients seen and treated for glass punching injuries during a 4.5-year period were reviewed. The demographic data included the extent of injury, postoperative hospitalization time, and full recovery time. Their psychologic traits were analyzed by two questionnaires (Symptom Distress Check List and State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory) and through a psychiatric interview. The results were compared with a sex- and age-matched control group with accidental hand injuries. The study group consisted of 36 patients. Mean age was 24.7 years. Most were men (n = 28), not married (n = 28), and living with their families. Half of them were unemployed. Twelve had only skin lacerations. The remaining 24 patients had a total of 45 tendon, 15 nerve, and 9 artery injuries. On an average, 46 days were required for full recovery. A second attempt of self-infliction was not reported. Twenty-one patients underwent questionnaires and psychiatric interview. The study group felt significantly higher levels of psychologic distress and hostility (p = 0.018 and p = 0.002, respectively). They also had higher levels of anger in daily life (p = 0.002). Clinical psychiatric evaluation failed to reveal any significant psychiatric disorder. Self-inflicted hand injuries increase the workload of emergency services and clinics involved in the treatment. Prevention is very difficult, especially when alcohol is not an underlying cause. A typical patient has hostile and disobedient characteristics and who easily expresses his anger. Happily, having suffered enough during their treatment these patients do not attempt a second self-infliction.

Prevention of Adolescent Reoccurring Violence and Alcohol Abuse: A Multiple Site Evaluation

“Prevention of Adolescent Reoccurring Violence and Alcohol Abuse: A Multiple Site Evaluation” is a multiple component alcohol abuse and violent behavior prevention strategy, targeted to adolescents ages 16–21 who have high levels of anger, or who are victims/perpetrators of violence, and their families. Three community centers located in upstate New York provided group participants (N = 210) known to have conduct disorder and substance abuse history. The centers were used as the intervention sites over a seven-week period with the youth assessment staff using objective screening measures. The participants were exposed to a two-pronged intervention, using a parental involvement cohort with approximately half of the study participants. The Teams, Games, and Tournaments strategy was the intervention method. Teams, Games, and Tournaments is a Social Learning Theory-based intervention with demonstrated empirical evidence of the model's effectiveness. A 2 × 3 factorial design with two follow-up points encompassed: anger control, alcohol/substance abuse, and family interactive education. The goals of the study were to help adolescents reduce their alcohol use, to increase productive family interaction, and ultimately to reduce the adolescents' aggression levels and subsequently reduce the possibility of their becoming victims or perpetrators of a violent crime. Consistent with Social Learning Theory, the Teams, Games, and Tournaments treatment intervention makes use of adolescents as peer counselors. The practical implications include that professionals or students in our public schools, juvenile courts, correctional institutions, and residential treatment centers can easily implement this program. A standardized treatment manual is available. It offers a complete, ready-to-use, and cost-effective tool for reducing adolescent violence and alcohol abuse. Further, the data provide support for a hypothesis of social learning theory, that is: interventions using multiple components are more effective than single treatments on their own.

Anger and inhibitory control as moderators of children's hostile attributions and aggression

The moderating role of mother-reported dispositional anger and inhibitory control (IC) in the relationship of children's hostile attributions of intent (HAI) to aggressive behavior at age 6 years was examined using data from the NICHD-SECCYD. For both teacher- and mother-rated aggression ( n = 921), a hypothesized moderating effect of anger was observed, such that HAI was only positively associated with aggressive behavior for children high in anger. For maternal-rated aggression a further 3-way interaction was found, indicating that HAI was only significantly positively associated with aggression for children with high levels of anger and low IC. An unexpected negative relationship between HAI and mother-rated aggression was observed for children low in both anger and IC, such that children with low HAI showed more aggressive behavior under this condition than did children with high HAI. Implications for intervention efforts and for integration of emotion and HAI research are considered.

Anger and alexithymic characteristics of the patients diagnosed with insomnia: a control group study

The research was designed with a descriptive purpose to compare the alexithymic characteristics, trait anger and anger expression styles of those who are diagnosed with insomnia with those who are not. It was conducted with 96 patients who applied to Department of Sleep Disorders and were diagnosed with insomnia and 96 volunteers were not diagnosed with any psychiatric diagnosis and had not any sleep disorders in two Medical Faculty Hospitals in west of Turkey. Three types of forms were used to collect research data. The first form is the Sociodemographic Characteristics Form, the second one is The Toronto Alexithymia Scale and the third one is the Trait Anger-Anger Expression Scale. It was determined that the patients diagnosed with insomnia had displayed much more alexithymic characteristics than control group. Insomniac patients had higher level of anger and anger expression-in than the control group was found. In accordance with the findings, it is suggested that more comprehensive data should be obtained from the patients having sleeping problems and, that the nursing interventions on the patients' recognition, expression and anger management should be reflected on the nursing holistic care.

A longitudinal analysis of anger and inhibitory control in twins from 12 to 36 months of age

Inhibitory control (IC) is a dimension of child temperament that involves the self-regulation of behavioral responses under some form of instruction or expectation. Although IC is posited to appear in toddlerhood, the voluntary control of emotions such as anger begins earlier. Little research has analyzed relations between emotional development in infancy and later emerging IC. We examined phenotypic associations and genetic and environmental influences on parent- and laboratory-assessed anger and IC in a twin sample from 12 to 36 months of age. Typically, twins with low levels of IC had high levels of anger. Behavioral genetic findings confirmed significant genetic influences on anger and IC as assessed by parents, and on lab-based anger assessments. Shared environmental factors contributed to twin similarity on lab-assessed anger and IC at 36 months. Phenotypic covariance between anger and IC was largely due to overlapping genetic factors for parent ratings, and environmental factors in the laboratory.

Negative Affect, Relapse, and Alcoholics Anonymous (AA): Does AA Work by Reducing Anger?

Anger and other indices of negative affect have been implicated in a stress-induced pathway to relapse. The Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) literature states that reduction of anger is critical to recovery, yet this proposed mechanism has rarely been investigated. Using lagged, controlled hierarchical linear modeling analyses, this study investigated whether AA attendance mobilized changes in anger and whether such changes explained AA-related benefit. Alcohol-dependent adults (N = 1,706) receiving treatment as part of a clinical trial were assessed at intake and at 3, 6, 9, 12, and 15 months. Findings revealed substantially elevated levels of anger compared with the general population (98th percentile) that decreased over 15-month follow-up but remained high (89th percentile). AA attendance was associated with better drinking outcomes, and higher levels of anger were associated with heavier drinking. However, AA attendance was unrelated to changes in anger. Although support was not found for anger as a mediator, there was strong convergence between AA's explicit emphasis on anger and the present findings: Anger appears to be a serious, enduring problem related to relapse and heavy alcohol consumption. Methodological factors may have contributed to the lack of association between AA and anger, but results suggest that AA attendance alone may be insufficient to alleviate the suffering and alcohol-related risks specifically associated with anger.

Effects of missing a price promotion after purchasing on perceived price unfairness, negative emotions, and behavioral responses

In this study we sought to examine how consumers perceive price unfairness when they learn that they have missed a price promotion after making a purchase, and explore the accompanying negative emotions and behavioral responses. The promotions that consumers learn they have missed could occur either before purchasing (i.e., prepurchase promotion) or after purchasing (i.e., postpurchase promotion). By conducting a 2 (attribution of responsibility: internal vs. external attribution) × 2 (time of the missed promotion: prepurchase vs. postpurchase promotion) experiment with 202 participants, we found that greater perceived price unfairness (PPU) is generated when consumers attribute missing the promotion to the sellers' actions. Additionally, PPU is more likely to induce anger than disappointment and regret. The time of the missed promotion alters the impact of PPU on regret. Lastly, consumers who experience high levels of anger and disappointment tend to complain and spread negative word of mouth while those who experience high regret tend to be inactive.