Differences in Trait Anger Among Children with Varying Levels of Anger Expression Patterns

Social Development, 2004

Our first goal was to examine the relations among observational, physiological, and self-report measures of children's anger. Our second goal was to investigate whether these relations varied by reactive or proactive aggression. Children (272 second-grade boys and girls) participated in a procedure in which they lost a game and prize to a confederate who cheated. Skin conductance reactivity, heart rate reactivity, selfreports of anger, angry facial expressions, and angry nonverbal behaviors were measured for each turn of the game. We used multi-level regressions to calculate the relations among the 10 pairs of the five anger variables over the course of the game. Six of the 10 pairs of anger variables were positively related. These findings suggest that measuring children's anger using any one approach may not capture the full complexity of children's overall experience and expression of anger. Furthermore, three of the 10 relations were stronger at higher levels of reactive aggression, although none varied by proactive aggression. These findings suggest that reactive aggression is related to greater cohesiveness in the experience and expression of anger than is proactive aggression.

International Research and Practice, 2013

The Spanish Journal of Psychology, 2015

This research had two goals: (1) it tested hypotheses of the State-Trait Model of anger, and (2) it explored characteristics that may distinguish individuals with high trait anger who recognize problems with their anger from those who do not recognize anger problems. Regarding the first goal, findings supported three hypotheses tested. In particular, compared to those low in trait anger, individuals with high trait anger reported: (a) more intense anger (intensity hypothesis),p <.001, effect size (η2) = .109; (b) more thoughts involving pejorative labeling/denigration,p <.001, η2= .280, thoughts of revenge,p <.001, η2= .170, more outward, negative anger expression (anger-out),p <.001, η2= .229, and more physically aggressive expression,p <.001, η2= .046-.123, (aggression hypothesis); and (c) more anger suppression (anger-in),p <.001, η2= .231, and fewer thoughts of self-control,p <.001, η2= .088, and behavioral efforts to control angry feelings (anger control-in...

Background: Anger is completely normal, usually healthy, human emotion but when one cannot manage their extreme anger it can become destructive and can lead to serious problems among teenagers. Self-control skills are a vital psychological variable that plays an important role in solving various problems of anger and aggression. This study aims to assess the anger-expression and self control skills among teenagers in high school, Chitwan. Materials and Methods: In this descriptive, cross-sectional study teenagers aged 13-19 years studying in grade 8, 9 and 10 in Greenland Public School, Chitwan, a total of 113 respondents were selected by the stratified random probability sampling technique. Data was collected through interview by using a modified state trait anger expression inventory and standard self control scale during one month period and was analyzed by using descriptive (frequency, percentage, mean, median and standard deviation) and inferential statistics (Chi-square, Pearson correlation). Results:The result revealed that less than half (47.4%) of the respondents had high level of anger-expression and more than half (51.9%) of the respondents had lower self control skills. The respondents' level of anger expression was statistically significant with class and father's educational status. There was also a statistically significant association between the respondents' level of self control skills and exercise. The results also showed moderately positive correlation (r=0.171) and statistically significant association between anger-expression and self control skills. Conclusion: In conclusion, nearly half of the teenagers had high anger-expression and low self control skills. Thus, the findings of the study could draw some attention towards the younger population facing difficulties and hoping for assistance to deal with the strong influences of anger. Hence, effective anger-management strategies for coping with anger and improving self-control skills can be implemented for the teenagers.

… of Psychopathology and …, 1999

This research explored facets of anger based on a multidimensional-associationistic conceptualization (Berkowitz, 1994) that includes antecedents, behavior, cognitions, and experiential response dimensions. High and low anger-prone individuals responded to six audiotaped situations validated in previous work to be anger provoking. Participants evaluated their own audiotaped responses, as did peer judges. Participants also completed the Social Problem Solving Inventory (SPSI) and the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) and they reported on the effect of anger experiences in their lives. Neither self nor peer ratings of the audiotaped responses differentiated the behavior of anger groups. High and low anger-prone individuals, however, differed in the way that they viewed the consequences of their behavior and how anger affected them in general. Furthermore, high anger-prone individuals had elevated levels of pathology on eight of the nine scales of the BSI and scored significantly lower on the SPSI. Results are discussed in terms of assessment of anger proneness, its relationship to psychopathology and implications for future work. 'Although the Berkowitz (1994) model provides a good framework for thinking about the major components of anger in terms of structural elements or the architecture of the system, Lang's (1968, 1993) bioinformational processing model of emotion and Foa and Kozak's (1986) extension have much relevance for intervention techniques in terms of the "emotional processing" of a network and have also been influential in our thinking. 4 We thought it was important to get information on various aspects of the anger experience such as intensity, frequency, and appropriateness for treatment purposes, and thus this was retained as a major domain for assessment and treatment. Technically, frequency and intensity could have been included under anger response dimensions and appropriateness or experiential labels could be included under cognitive response dimensions. 'Although individuals were selected by a trait anger scale, we prefer to label them as high or low anger-prone, as the term "trait" has many connotations. We prefer the probabilistic connotation of "proneness," as opposed to the more "fixed" notion of a trait, which has an association with traditional individual differences notions as well as the psychodynamic literature.

The Spanish journal of psychology, 2011

This study compared three groups of people: (a) high trait anger individuals who recognized personal anger problems (HR); (b) high trait anger individuals who did not recognize personal anger problems (HNR); and (c) low trait anger individuals not reporting personal anger problems (LNR). Compared to LNR participants, HR and HNR groups reported more anger-out (i.e., outward negative expression of anger such as arguing with others), anger-in (i.e., anger suppression and harboring grudges), greater desire to use and actual use of physically aggressive anger expression (e.g., pushing or shoving someone), and less anger control-in (i.e., emotionally focused strategies to lower anger such as relaxation) and anger control-out (i.e., behaviorally focused strategies such as being patient with others). HR individuals reported more trait anger (i.e., higher propensity to experience anger) and less anger control-out than the HNR group. Gender did not relate to the recognition of anger problems....

2015

The purpose of this study was to explore and identify key themes related to a child's experience of anger. The existing literature on children's emotional experiences stems from adult perceptions and interpretations; this study was envisioned to investigate the experience of anger among children using their own words. Participants were male and female students, aged 8-9 and in a general grade three classroom within a community school. Through the use of semistructured interview focus groups conducted over a span of 10 weeks, participants were invited to disclose their understandings of anger and how they experienced it. Results were analyzed via a content analysis procedure that resulted in five themes. These themes consisted of Understanding Anger, Origins of Anger, Consequences of Anger, Regulation and Resolution of Anger, and finally Relations with Others. Results and implications of the findings were discussed.

Frontiers in Psychology, 2020

Everyday beliefs often organize and guide motivations, goals, and behaviors, and, as such, may also differentially motivate individuals to value and attend to emotion-related cues of others. In this way, the beliefs that individuals hold may affect the socioemotional skills that they develop. To test the role of emotion-related beliefs specific to anger, we examined an educational context in which beliefs could vary and have implications for individuals' skill. Specifically, we studied 43 teachers' beliefs about students' anger in the school setting as well as their ability to recognize expressions of anger in children's faces in a dynamic emotion recognition task. Results revealed that, even when controlling for teachers' age and gender, teachers' belief that children's anger was useful and valuable in the school setting was associated with teachers' accuracy at recognizing anger expressions in children's faces. The belief that children's anger was harmful and not conducive to learning, however, was not associated with teachers' accuracy at recognizing children's anger expressions. These findings suggest that certain everyday beliefs matter for predicting skill in recognizing specific emotion-related cues.

Motivation and Emotion, 2006

In 2 studies, we investigated the occurrence of anger-related behaviors and their relationship to emotional, performance-related, and situational variables. In the first study, we constructed a comprehensive taxonomy of behaviors associated with anger, and we examined the occurrence of the resulting behavior categories as a function of several independent variables. A total of 8 distinct behavior categories were identified, 3 aggressive and 5 nonaggressive. Our results also demonstrated that fight (including both verbal and physical aggression) and flight behaviors occurred most frequently. Physical aggression, however, occurred most frequently in an inhibited form, in response to the emotion of anger (as compared to the emotion of irritation), and when the anger was intense. A second study was conducted to replicate and extend the findings of Study 1. The results suggest that the taxonomy, as derived in Study 1, is comprehensive and allows for a reliable categorization. Moreover, it appeared that fight and flight behaviors occurred most frequently if the target at whom one is angry was present.

Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 2007

Attempts to explain the experience of somatic complaints among children and adolescents suggest that they may in part result from the influence of particular strategies for coping with anger on the longevity of negative emotions. To explore these relationships British (n=393) and Dutch (n=299) children completed a modified version of the Behavioral Anger Response Questionnaire (BARQ), and two additional questionnaires assessing anger mood and somatic complaints. A hierarchical regression analysis showed that for both the UK and Dutch samples two coping styles, Social support-seeking and Rumination, made a significant contribution to somatic complaints, over and above the variance explained by anger mood. A tendency to repeatedly think or talk about an angering event as a way of coping seems to underlie the observed negative health effects. In addition, tentative support is given for a broader range of strategies to cope with anger than just the traditionally studied anger-out and anger-in styles.

2000

Attempts to explain the experience of somatic complaints among children and adolescents suggest that they may in part result from the influence of particular strategies for coping with anger on the intensity and longevity of negative emotions. To explore these relationships British (n = 393) and Dutch (n = 299) children completed a modified version of the Behavioral Anger Response Questionnaire (BARQ), and two additional questionnaires assessing anger mood and somatic complaints. A hierarchical regression analysis showed that higher levels of anger mood, Social support-seeking and Rumination contributed to somatic complaints. Frequency of somatic complaints was not predicted by age. A tendency to repeatedly think or talk about an angering event as a way of coping seems to underlie the observed negative health effects. In addition, tentative support is given for a broader range of strategies to cope with anger than just the traditional anger-out and anger-in styles.

Journal of Counseling Psychology, 1996

Eight studies present support for state-trait anger theory. In Studies 1-3, high-anger participants reported (a) greater anger in many different provocations, in their most angering ongoing situations, and in daily life, (b) greater anger-related physiological arousal, (c) greater state anger and dysfunctional coping in response to a visualized provocation, and (d) greater use of suppression and outward negative expression of anger. Only heart rate in the visualized provocation did not support predictions. In Studies 4-5, high-anger individuals suffered more frequent and intense anger consequences. In Studies 6-8, trait anger had higher correlations with dimensions of anger than with other emotions, cognitions, and behaviors. Few gender differences were found across studies. Results were discussed in terms of state-trait theory, convergent and discriminant validity for the Trait Anger Scale, anger expression, gender, and the implications for counseling.

1975

Anger is a subject which is seldom discussed independently of other topics. Because of this there appears to exist no work which would enable helping professionals to understand and deal specifically with anger related problems. The purpose of this study is to define the basic dynamics of anger and to suggest a method by which educationally oriented helping professionals may deal with the emotion. Anger is defined as experiential emotional state which is characterized by a physiological arousal state. The arousal state is accompanied by cognitive desires to inflict harm (verbal or physical) on another person or object. Anger is seen as having six different causes which, the author defines as six different types of anger. The types of anger are: (1) Instinctive anger: A biological adaptive anger which stems from a well defined threat to one's property, life, or family; (2) Frustration anger: Anger which is the result of the frustration of an organism's goal oriented response;...

Th e purpose of this study was to investigate the anger and anger expression styles with respect to coping with stress and interpersonal problem-solving. Th e participants were 468 (258 female and 210 male, between 17-30 years old) university students. Pearson product-moment correlation coeff icients and multiple hierarchical regression analysis were used. As a results of the study, it was found that there was a negative relationship between trait anger and problem focused coping (p < .05), a negative relationship between anger in with problem-focused coping, and seeking for social support (p < .01), a negative relationship between anger-out with avoiding (p < .01) and problem-focused coping (p < .05) and a positive relationship between anger control with problem-focused coping and avoidance (p < .01). However there was a positive relationship among approaching problems in a negative way, lack of self-confidence, unwillingness to take responsibility and trait anger, anger in, anger out (p < .01) while a negative relationship between anger control (p < .01). A negative relationship among constructive problem-solving and trait anger (p < .05), anger-in (p<.01), and a positive relationship between constructive problem-solving and anger control (p < .01) were found. And, there was a negative relationship between insisting-preserving approach and anger-in (p < .05), while there was a positive relationship between insistent preserving approach and anger-out, anger control (p < .01). Besides, it was found that coping with stress and interpersonal problem-solving significantly explain the trait anger and the anger expressing styles.