SEARCH · PubMed Health

Results for “anger expression”

Explore indexed PubMed citations for clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health research. Read source abstracts and follow each citation to its original PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 127 records · Page 7Linked to original sources

PubMed2001

Understanding women's anger: a description of relational patterns.

Sixty women's narratives about their anger were coded for elements of anger expression. Their decisions regarding how and where to express anger are most strongly influenced by the anticipated reactions of others. Six patterns of bringing anger into relationships or keeping it out were identified. Women bring anger into relationship: (1) positively and directly, with the goal of removing barriers to relationship; (2) aggressively, with the goal of hurting another; and (3) indirectly, through disguising anger with the goal of remaining safe from interpersonal consequences, using strategies of (a) quiet sabotage, (b) hostile distance, (c) deflection, and (d) loss of control. Women keep anger out of relationship (1) consciously and constructively, choosing to express it in positive ways; (2) explosively expressing anger, but not in the presence of another; and (3) through self-silencing, which ranges from conscious to less-conscious awareness of anger and its suppression. Implications of differing patterns for women's health are discussed.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed1993

Psychological, situational, and gender predictors of cardiovascular reactivity to stress: a multivariate approach.

This study examined whether relationships between anger expression, hostility, social evaluative anxiety, and a presumed mechanism for coronary heart disease development, cardiovascular reactivity (CVR) to stress, are moderated by stress situation and gender and whether such relationships are attenuated by inadequate assessments. Subjects (47 men, 47 women) were assigned randomly to either a Harassment or a Social Evaluation condition, under which they performed a reaction time task. SBP, DBP, and HR measures were recorded during baseline and task. Multiple regression analyses indicated that expressed anger was related to CVR only among men in the Harassment condition; that hostile men who express anger showed the most CVR across situations, and that the traits assessed here did not predict CVR among women. Results suggest that assessments of coronary-risk and interventions to reduce risk may need to take into account attitudes, styles of emotional expression, environmental factors, and gender.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1997

Brief aikido training versus karate and golf training and university students' scores on self-esteem, anxiety, and expression of anger.

The purpose of this research was to investigate if aikido training for 10 weeks for 69 beginning students is effective in improving selected aspects of personality. The hypothesis was that subjects' scores would significantly increase on self-esteem but decrease on anxiety and anger expression. Change in means from pre- to posttest did not support the hypothesis.

Anger↗

PubMed1995

Anger, depression, and disability: a path analysis of relationships in a sample of chronic posttraumatic headache patients.

Anger and depression are common affective concomitants of chronic headache. Previous research suggests that the affective component of headache may contribute to the patient's perceptions of the degree to which the headache is disabling. The present study examined the relationship between anger expression, anger suppression, depression, and headache-related disability (interference with function) in a sample of chronic posttraumatic headache patients. A path analytic model indicated a direct relationship between depression and perceived disability. Anger suppression and anger expression each had a direct influence on depression, but their effects on disability were mediated through depression. The results partially replicate a previous path analytic study of the relationships among these variables in a chronic headache sample.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1994

Psychometric evidence that mercury from silver dental fillings may be an etiological factor in depression, excessive anger, and anxiety.

Scores on the Beck Depression Inventory were compared for 25 women who had silver dental fillings (amalgams) and for 23 women without amalgams. Women with amalgams had significantly higher scores and reported more symptoms of fatigue and insomnia. Anger scores from the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory showed that the women with amalgams had statistically significantly higher mean scores on expressing anger without provocation and experiencing more intense angry feelings. The women without amalgams scored significantly higher on controlling anger, which suggested they invested more energy in monitoring and preventing the experience and expression of anger. Anxiety scores from the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory showed the women with amalgams scored significantly less pleasant, satisfied, happy, secure, and steady, and had a more difficult time making decisions. They had significantly higher Trait Anxiety scores. The women with amalgams also had significantly higher levels of mercury in the oral cavity before and after chewing gum. The study suggests that amalgam mercury may be an etiological factor in depression, excessive anger, and anxiety because mercury can produce such symptoms perhaps by affecting the neurotransmitters in the brain.

Adult↗

PubMed1995

The anger recall interview and cardiovascular reactivity in women: an examination of context and experience.

Recent research has focused on the role of hostility as a risk factor for coronary heart disease. Hostility has been linked independently to cardiovascular mortality and, as a component of Type A behavior, to atherogenesis and myocardial infarction; however, the mechanisms by which hostility manifests its effects on the cardiovascular system have not been determined. In addition, hostility has been evaluated as a trait measure, with little emphasis on how anger-provoking episodes may be perceived by individuals. The present study seeks to evaluate the affective experience of hostility, through an anger recall interview, and relate qualities of that experience to one potential mechanism of cardiovascular risk, cardiovascular reactivity. Fifty-eight women, classified by structured interview as Type A or B, participated in an anger recall interview while their heart rate and blood pressure were monitored. Type A women manifested greater systolic reactivity when their anger was in response to frustration of autonomy needs, while Type B women exhibited greater heart rate reactivity in response to frustration of affiliation needs. All women who suppressed anger expression experienced higher pressor responses than women who expressed anger assertively. Future investigations may find the content of an interview as useful as the procedure itself in studies of cardiovascular reactivity.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2003

Mood, eating attitudes, and anger in obese women with and without Binge Eating Disorder.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the anger levels and their management in obese patients. METHODS: A total of 103 obese women [51 with Binge Eating Disorder (BED) and 52 without BED] were included in the study and compared to 93 healthy controls. They were assessed with the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory (STAXI), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and Eating Disorder Inventory-2 (EDI-2). RESULTS: The BDI score is higher in obese subjects than in controls and obese binge eaters have higher levels of depression than obese patients without BED. Differences among the three groups can be found in almost all subscales of the EDI-2, even after controlling for the variable depression (BDI). For STAXI, the only difference among the three groups, which remains significant after controlling for depression, is the tendency to express anger outside (AX-OUT), which is higher in obese binge eaters. The correlation study highlights the importance of impulsivity in the group of obese binge eaters, whereas in obese patients without BED, the tendency toward anger suppression (AX-IN) is seen. DISCUSSION: Obese patients with BED might be considered a subgroup deserving greater psychiatric interest, both for the greater severity of the eating disorder and for the comorbidity with subthreshold depressive symptoms and with borderline personality traits. In obese patients without BED, eating behavior seems more correlated to the psychological functioning typical of psychosomatic disorders. Implications for treatment are discussed.

Adult↗

PubMed1998

Adult attachment style and individual differences in functional versus dysfunctional experiences of anger.

Three studies examined the association between adult attachment and anger. Study 1 examined attachment-style differences in self-reports of anger-proneness, anger expression, anger goals, and responses to anger. Study 2 assessed attachment style, physiological signs of anger, and attribution of hostile intent. Study 3 used a lexical-decision task for studying attachment-style differences in expected anger outcome. Secure persons scored lower in anger-proneness, endorsed more constructive anger goals, reported more adaptive responses and more positive affect in anger episodes, attributed less hostile intent to others, and expected more positive outcomes than insecure persons. For ambivalent persons, the anger experience also included lack of anger control and anger-in. For avoidant persons, it included high hostility, escapist responses, and lack of awareness of physiological signs of anger. The underlying action of working models is emphasized in the discussion.

Adult↗

PubMed1999

Vital exhaustion as a risk factor of myocardial infarction: a case-control study in Venezuela.

In this study, 32 first myocardial infarction (MI) cases and 42 healthy controls were compared with respect to vital exhaustion (VE), a state characterized by loss of energy, increased irritability, and feelings of demoralization. This state has been found to precede the onset of cardiac events. Participants also responded to questionnaires on Type A behavior, anger expression (Anger In, Anger Out, and Anger Control), and positive and negative self-concept. Results showed that VE discriminated well between MI patients and controls (Odds Ratio [OR] = 15.42, 95% confidence interval = 3.92-60.67) even when controlling for age, smoking, and exercise. The odds ratio decreased to 12.34 when controlling for socioeconomic status. Groups also differed in Anger In but not in Anger Control, Anger Out, negative or positive self-concept. Anger In was correlated to VE in all participants pointing to the relevance of withholding emotions in relation to exhaustion. Exhaustion was strongly associated with negative self-concept in the MI cases group only but significantly discriminated between cases and controls when adjusted for negative self-concept. Summarizing, the results show that, as has previously been found in other countries, in Venezuela VE is a precursor of MI.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2000

The relationship between anger-coping styles and lifestyle behaviors in teenagers.

PURPOSE: To investigate the relationship between anger-coping styles (anger expression and anger suppression) and lifestyle behaviors (physical activity and consumption of alcohol, cigarettes, and caffeine) in adolescents. METHODS: A sample of 411 adolescents (198 males: 101 white, 97 black; 213 females: 101 white, 112 black) aged 13-20 years (mean age 15.6 years) completed the Anger Expression Scale and brief self-report questionnaires assessing physical activity (weekly amount, comparison with peers) and consumption of alcohol (frequency and amount over the past 2 weeks), cigarettes (amount over past 2 weeks), and caffeine (from coffee and soda over past week). RESULTS: Correlational and Chi-square analyses showed teenagers high in anger suppression reported consuming alcohol more frequently, spending fewer hours per week in aerobic activity, and being less physically active than their peers. Teenagers high in anger expression reported consuming more caffeinated soda and coffee. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that excessive anger suppression or expression may be associated with an imprudent lifestyle relatively early in life.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed2002

Expression of anger and alexithymia in patients with psychogenic excoriation: a preliminary report.

OBJECTIVE: Psychogenic excoriation (PE), which is characterized by lesions formed by self-picking, has a significant place among the dermatoses related to psychological factors. Emotions, particularly anger that cannot be expressed, may be important in the etiology. The objective of this study was to evaluate the sociodemographic characteristics of patients with PE and with another psychodermatosis, and compare them in terms of anger, manner of anger expression, and alexithymia. METHODS: Thirty-one consecutive subjects with PE and thirty-one patients with chronic urticaria were recruited from an outpatient dermatology clinic. All of the subjects completed Toronto Alexithymia Scale and Trait Anger and Anger Expression Scale. RESULTS: PE patients had higher levels of anger (p < .01), tended not to show their anger (p < .05), and were more alexithymic (p < .05). There was also a positive correlation between anger and alexithymia scores (r = .49, p < .05). DISCUSSION: PE, a severe and chronic psychiatric and dermatological problem, may be related to affect-regulation, particularly anger and alexithymia. Due to the fact that it has a different place among psychodermatoses, individuals with PE might benefit from learning how to regulate their affects other than by excoriation.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1997

The outward expression of anger, the inward experience of anger and CVR: the role of vocal expression.

Two hypotheses were tested: (1) that only the outward expression of anger, not its mere experience, is associated with heightened cardiovascular reactivity; and (2) that the discussion of anger-arousing experiences in a mood incongruent speech style (soft and slow) attenuates the subjective experience of anger and its cardiovascular correlates. Each of 24 subjects participated in three experimental conditions: (1) Anger-out, in which previously experienced anger-arousing events were described loudly and quickly; (2) Anger-in, in which anger-arousing events were relived inwardly, in subject's imagination; and (3) mood-incongruent speech, in which anger-arousing events were described softly and slowly. Only the Anger-out condition was associated with high cardiovascular reactivity levels. The Anger-in and the mood-incongruent conditions were associated with near-zero and very low reactivity levels, respectively. Subjective anger ratings were highest in the Anger-out condition, moderate in the Anger-in condition, and lowest (not angry) in the mood-incongruent condition. All differences were significant. These findings suggest that the full-blown expression of anger, in all of its paraverbal intensity, is pathogenic and that the mere inner experience of anger is not.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2004

The positive and negative effects of anger on dispute resolution: evidence from electronically mediated disputes.

Scholars have argued that anger expressed by participants in mediation is counterproductive; yet, there is also reason to believe that expressions of anger can be productive. The authors tested these competing theories of emotion by using data from online mediation. Results show that expression of anger lowers the resolution rate in mediation and that this effect occurs in part because expressing anger generates an angry response by the other party. However, when respondents are especially vulnerable, expressions of anger by the filer do not hinder settlement. The authors also examined precursors to anger, such as value of dispute and reputation, and the degree to which a focus on dispute resolution is reciprocated.

Anger↗

PubMed2006

Scopolamine induces impairments in the recognition of human facial expressions of anger and disgust.

RATIONALE: Recent psychopharmacological studies lend support to the notion of partially dissociable neuronal systems dedicated to processing specific emotions. For example, GABA-ergic enhancement after an acute dose of the benzodiazepine, diazepam, produces specific impairments in anger and fear recognition. However, it is unclear if these impairments are a general property of benzodiazepines and other drugs that produce a similar profile of neurocognitive impairment to benzodiazepines, such as the anticholinergic, scopolamine. OBJECTIVE: We investigated the effects of scopolamine and the benzodiazepine, lorazepam, on emotion-recognition accuracy. METHODS: A double-blind independent group design was used with 48 healthy volunteers to compare the effects of scopolamine and lorazepam with an inactive placebo on a commonly used emotion-recognition task. Control measures included an episodic memory task and subjective mood ratings. RESULTS: Anger and disgust recognition accuracy was impaired after scopolamine. In contrast, lorazepam produced no impairment in emotion-recognition despite producing similar levels of sedation and anterograde amnesia to scopolamine. CONCLUSIONS: Scopolamine-induced cholinergic hypofunction selectively impaired the recognition accuracy of disgust and anger facial expressions. The effects of scopolamine on emotion-recognition are similar to those found in Huntington's disease patients. Furthermore, the impairments in anger and fear recognition previously observed with diazepam do not appear to be a general property of benzodiazepines. This suggests that alterations in emotional processing involving changes in the ability to recognize threat-related emotions (particularly, fear and anger) may not be a principal mechanism underlying anxiolysis or paradoxical aggression seen with benzodiazepines.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2006

Categorical perception of anger and disgust facial expression is affected by non-clinical social anxiety: an ERP study.

Anxiety has been associated with a bias for interpreting threatening information. Faces expressing anger seem to be more easily detected by socially anxious individuals than by non-anxious individuals. Similarly, disgust on a face may also reflect a negative social judgment. We tested the hypothesis that individuals displaying non-clinical social anxiety would be as sensitive to disgust as to anger interpretation by comparing individuals scoring high or low on the fear of social evaluation scale (FNE, Watson and Friend, 1969). Event-related potentials (ERP) were recorded in response to repetitions of a particular facial expression (e.g. anger) and in response to two deviating (rare) stimuli obtained by a morphing procedure, where one depicted the same emotion as the frequent stimulus, while the other depicted a different facial expression (e.g. disgust). The classic effect of categorical perception was reproduced: at a behavioral level, people detected more easily rare faces depicting a different emotion than faces depicting the same emotion. ERP results suggest that deviant faces depicting a different emotion evoked an earlier attentional N2b/P3a wave complex, together with an earlier and enhanced P3b. More interestingly, participants with non-clinical social anxiety manifested a reduced N2b wave when they had to detect a change in intensity of anger presentation. However, these individuals did not show facilitation to disengage from disgust when they have to detect angry faces, which was displayed by control participants. Implications and suggestions for further research about the role played by anger and disgust in psychopathology are outlined.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1989

The validity of multidimensional self-report anger and hostility measures.

The present study assessed the convergent and discriminant validity of multidimensional measures of anger and hostility and validated abbreviated neurotic and reactive hostility subscales of the Buss Durkee Hostility Inventory. A sample of 120 adults were administered the abbreviated Buss Durkee Reaction (RH) and Neurotic Hostility (NH) subscales, State-Trait Anger Scale (ST), Anger Self-Report General (ASRG) subscale, Multidimensional Anger Inventory (MAI), and Framingham Anger-in (FI), Anger-out (FO), and Discuss (FD) scales. An intercorrelation matrix supported the convergent and discriminant validity of these measures except for the Anger-in/Brood subscale of the MAI and the FO scale. Factor analysis of the scales resulted in three factors: anger experience/hostility, verbal/adaptive anger expression, and maladaptive/physical anger expression. Implications for future research on anger assessment, specifically the components of anger experience and anger expression or suppression, were discussed.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed2001

Lymphocyte proliferation is associated with gender, caregiving, and psychosocial variables in older adults.

We examined lymphocyte responses to mitogens [phytohemagglutinin (PHA), concanavalin A, pokeweed] in spouse caregivers of persons with Alzheimer's disease (n = 82; mean age = 69.4) and noncaregiver spouses (n = 83) group matched on age and gender. Data were collected at study entry (T1) and 15-18 months later (T2). In men (n = 52), a depressed mood factor was negatively related to all mitogen responses at T1 and PHA at T2. Loneliness was the most important variable in the depressed mood factor. No relationships occurred in women (n = 113). At T2 an anger expression factor (anger-out--anger-control) was negatively related to all mitogen responses in caregivers. Anger-out was the most important variable for anger expression. Depressed mood at T1 predicted residualized changes in PHA at T2 in men. In conclusion, men with higher depressed mood and caregivers with higher anger expression may be at risk for lower proliferation responses.

Aged↗

PubMed2000

Plasma homocysteine concentrations are positively associated with hostility and anger.

Homocysteine is a sulphur amino acid that is positively associated with risk of vascular disease. Very few behavioral or psychological factors have been studied in relationship to homocysteine levels, despite the fact that several psychological factors have also been linked with risk for cardiovascular disease. One psychological attribute showing a strong association with risk is hostility, which is prospectively predictive of future cardiovascular disease endpoints. Another related psychological factor is anger expression; coronary heart disease risk is associated with both heightened expression and inhibition of anger. The purpose of this study was to test the relationship of hostility and anger expression with homocysteine concentrations in a sample of healthy, middle-aged men and women. Participants completed the Cook-Medley hostility questionnaire, the Speilberger Anger Expression questionnaire, and had blood taken for the assessment of plasma homocysteine concentrations. Results indicated positive and significant associations between hostility and homocysteine levels for all participants, and positive and significant correlations between anger-in and homocysteine levels for men only. These data are among the first to test the relationship between homocysteine and psychological risk factors for cardiovascular diseases, and suggest one potential mechanism for the increased cardiovascular risk associated with hostility and anger expression.

Anger↗