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Relationship of resting blood pressure and heart rate to experienced anger and expressed anger.

Forty-five nonmedicated subjects rated on analog scales the anger they experienced at home and at work (Experienced Anger). They also rated the extent to which others were aware of their anger (Expressed Anger) and the extent to which anger had been expressed in their families or origin (Family Expressed Anger). They were then physiologically monitored during a 2-min relaxation period that followed habituation to the laboratory setting. For the group as a whole, Expressed Anger was inversely related to systolic (SBP) and diastolic (DBP) blood pressure while Family Expressed Anger was inversely related to SBP only. When the sample was divided into normotensive and hypertensive subgroups, the normotensives showed significant associations between Experienced Anger and SBP, Expressed Anger and DBP, and Family Expressed Anger and SBP. The hypertensive subgroup showed no significant associations. Both males and females showed a significant association between Expressed Anger and DBP, but only females showed this relationship with SBP. It is concluded that coping with anger by conscious inhibition of its expression is associated with increases in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure.

Adaptation, Psychological

Relationship of expressed anger to forearm muscle vascular resistance.

The relationship of style of anger expression to physiological reactivity was examined in 45 nonmedicated subjects during their performance of three tasks with contrasting response demands. The primary physiological focus was on forearm muscle vascular resistance (FMVR) with forearm muscle blood flow (FMBF), digital pulse volume (DPV), digital vascular resistance (DVR), heart rate (HR), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), systolic blood pressure (SBP), and electrodermal frequency (EF) monitored. Family Expressed Anger, i.e. the overtness of anger expression in the subject's family of origin, was related to FMVR such that the more anger was expressed in the family of origin, the greater the vasoconstriction during Mental Arithmetic and the less the vasoconstriction during Anger Imagery. Self Expressed Anger, i.e. the degree to which others were aware when the subject was feeling angry, was related to SBP and DBP during Vigilance with a lesser degree of anger expression going with greater blood pressure increases. The meaning of these findings in relation to task appraisal and task demand is discussed.

Adult

Gender differences in anger expression: health implications.

Anger expression modes were examined in a diverse sample of mid-life men and women (N = 139) participating in the third phase of a longitudinal study of health that began in 1982 at the World's Fair and a metropolitan general hospital in Tennessee. Contrary to previous studies, men and women did not differ in the likelihood of suppressing their anger (anger-in), nor were there gender differences in anger-out. However, t tests revealed significant differences between men and women in the likelihood of discussing anger and expressing anger via physical symptoms (women higher on both). The only mode of anger expression related to poorer health status was expression of anger via physical symptoms; anger-in, anger-out, and anger-discuss modes were unrelated. Correlates of anger symptoms for both men and women included lower levels of education and optimism, poorer health habits, and external locus of control beliefs. Several correlations were found to be gender-specific; e.g., women who exhibited more anger symptomatology were not suppressors of their anger, but directed it outward, taking it out on others and blaming others. Implications were discussed.

Adaptation, Psychological

Gender, anger expression style, and opportunity for anger release determine cardiovascular reaction to and recovery from anger provocation.

This study represents an extension of Hokanson's research, which showed that for men anger release after provocation tends to accelerate cardiovascular recovery. The objective of this study was to investigate how gender and habitual style for anger-in or anger-out behavior modulate the effect of anger provocation and release. Male and female subjects (N = 105) were classified as anger-in/anger-out only when a double criterion (i.e., self-report and peer evaluation) was satisfied. Following a state anger rating at pre-test, subjects were harassed during the performance of a 12-minute math task. After task completion, subjects were randomly assigned to one of two 10-minute recovery protocols a) having an opportunity to release negative affect, and b) not not having such an opportunity. All groups (including the anger-ins) that had an opportunity to express negative affect did in fact express similar levels of anger. Men reacted more strongly to the math task performed under anger provocation on all cardiovascular indices. Anger expression style as a trait-type disposition was important for the recovery process in women whereas the situational manipulation (i.e., the opportunity to release anger) had specific effects on the recovery process of men. Opportunity to release anger facilitated heart rate recovery (and to a lesser degree diastolic pressure recovery) in men but not in women. Women with anger-in tendencies on the other hand displayed better systolic pressure recovery than female anger-outs whereas no such effects were observed in men.

Adjustment Disorders

Relations between anger expression and cardiovascular reactivity: reconciling inconsistent findings through a matching hypothesis.

Previous psychophysiological research has demonstrated that both anger expression and anger suppression are related to cardiovascular responses, but in an inconsistent fashion. The present study tested the following hypotheses: (a) that the influence of anger expression style on psychophysiological responses would be limited to Ss exposed to an anger instigation, and (b) that the specific pattern of psychophysiological responses would vary as a function of whether Ss were induced to use their preferred vs. nonpreferred mode of anger expression style in response to the instigation. Seventy-eight male college undergraduates were randomly assigned to work on a task with either an annoying or a pleasant confederate and subsequently to write either a negative or a positive evaluation of the confederate. Blood pressure was measured intermittently and heart rate continuously throughout task performance and a subsequent 15-min rest period. Ss' preferred method of anger expression had been previously assessed by a self-report questionnaire. Systolic blood pressure results generally were consistent with the hypotheses. Implications of the findings for the etiology of cardiovascular diseases are discussed.

Adolescent

Perceived stress, trait anger, modes of anger expression, and health status of college men and women.

Relationships among perceived stress, trait anger (general propensity to become angry), modes of anger expression, and health status were examined in a sample of 720 college students. Although stress was significantly correlated with trait anger and all four modes of anger expression, most correlations were of low magnitude. College men and women did not differ in trait anger, anger-in, or anger-out. Significant gender differences were found in only two modes of anger expression--discussing anger and expressing it somatically (women scoring higher on both). The contribution of anger variables to the variance in health status was negligible.

Adult

[A questionnaire for assessing anger and expression of anger].

The State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory (STAXI) developed by Spielberger is a measure for state- and trait-anger and three different forms of anger expression. People differ in the extent to which they express anger overtly and directly (anger out), how often anger feelings are hold in or suppressed (anger in) or in the extent to which they are able to control their angry feelings or their overtly expressed anger (anger control). The scales are developed to determine the relevance of individual dispositions to express anger in the etiology and course of psychosomatic illness like hypertension, coronary heart disease etc. The present report is a summary of the research reports presented by Schwenkmezger and Hodapp (1986, 1989). It describes the development of the German adaptation of the STAXI, including itemmetrical and factor analytic results, detailed research on construct validity, and first experimental analyses.

Adult

The effect of descriptive anger expression, insult, and no feedback on interpersonal aggression, hostility, and empathy motivation.

In a test of the hypothesis that descriptive anger expression elicits less subsequent aggression and greater empathy than does aggressive insult, 60 male undergraduates were instructed to set varying levels of shock for an opponent during a series of competitive trials before and after hearing one of four types of taped comment. Results indicated that descriptive anger expression led to a significant decrease in aggression, while no feedback (opponent said nothing) led to an increase in aggression. Insult and no anger feedback resulted in little change in aggressive behavior. In contrast, descriptive anger expression, insult, and no anger feedback produced more residual hostility than did no feedback. Descriptive anger expression Ss appeared to be more motivated by empathy in setting shocks, as compared to the other three groups. Empathy was found to be generally associated with lower shock settings initially and with reductions in shock settings following the opponent's comments. Empathy, however, was not related to Ss' hostility ratings. The results tend to support the clinical utility of descriptive anger expression in improving interpersonal relations.

Aggression

Family communication patterns and adolescent depressive symptoms: sequential mediating effects of hedonic capacity and anger expression.

OBJECTIVE: Depression is increasingly prevalent among adolescents, highlighting the need to explore its underlying developmental mechanisms to inform effective prevention. This study examined how different family communication patterns longitudinally impact adolescent depressive symptoms, with a focus on the mediating roles of diminished hedonic capacity and anger expression. METHOD: A total of 729 Chinese adolescents from five high schools participated in this two-wave longitudinal study over a six-month period. Participants completed the Family Communication Patterns Scale (FCPS), the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI), the Anhedonia Scale for Adolescents (ASA), and the Children's Inventory of Anger (ChIA). Mediation analyses were conducted using Hayes' PROCESS macro, alongside cross-lagged panel analyses to explore longitudinal effect. RESULTS: Cross-sectional analyses indicated that diminished hedonic capacity and anger experience sequentially mediated the relationship between family communication patterns and adolescent depressive symptoms. Specifically, this mediating effect existed for conversation orientation in junior high school students and female senior high school students, as well as for conformity orientation among female junior and senior high school students. In addition, longitudinal analyses revealed that diminished hedonic capacity mediated the associations at Wave 2. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that enhanced hedonic capacity and reduced anger expression may play a key role in the relationship between family communication patterns and adolescent depression, and hedonic capacity should be prioritized in practical interventions. These results support the potential value of interventions that promote positive family communication patterns as a means of mitigating adolescent depression, particularly for families with daughters.

anger expression

Anger expression and life stress among blacks: their role in physical health.

This study examines the relationship between anger expression and life stress in a nationally representative sample of black adults. Recent research of mostly white subjects has shown that anger-hostility, one of the components of the Type A behavioral pattern, is an important predictor of health problems. The findings of the present inquiry indicate that anger-hostility is an important predictor of life stress, and that people with higher levels of anger conflict are more likely to experience negative life events. Moreover, negative life events and anger are shown to be independent predictors of health problems among blacks. The implications of these results for future studies of the health of black Americans are discussed.

Adolescent

The Spielberger Anger Expression Scale: some psychometric data.

Some general population norms for the Spielberger, Johnson et al. (1984) Anger Expression Scale (AX) are reported for a sample of over 1000 adults tested in a general health survey of a New Zealand community. Factor analysis confirmed the independence of the Anger/In and Anger/Out subscales, and the measure was found to have satisfactory levels of reliability.

Adolescent

Relationship of racial stressors to blood pressure responses and anger expression in black college students.

The physiological effects of racism, as a stressor, were examined as they related to blood pressure (BP) and anger experiences in Black college students. Current research has failed to consider the stressful effects of racism as a factor contributing to the higher incidence of essential hypertension among Blacks. Twenty-seven Black college students viewed three excerpts showing racist situations involving Blacks; anger-provoking, nonracist situations; and neutral situations. After each scene, BP was taken, and a mood checklist was administered. The Framingham Anger Scale and the Anger Expression Scale were administered. Analyses revealed that BP significantly increased during the presentation of racist stimuli but not of anger-provoking or neutral stimuli. Self-reports of state anger, as measured by the mood checklist, were significant for both the anger-provoking and racist stimuli. BP scores were significantly correlated to the two trait anger measures. Exposure to racist stimuli was associated with BP increases among Blacks. Such cumulative exposure to racism may have important implications for the etiology of essential hypertension.

Adaptation, Psychological

Anger expression, hostility, anxiety, and patterns of cardiac reactivity to stress.

The majority of studies investigating the relationships between psychological characteristics and cardiovascular reactivity to stress use a research strategy in which discrete traits are evaluated in isolation. The present study examined the effects of additive and/or interactive relationships among traits on cardiac reactivity to a mental arithmetic task. In addition, impedance cardiographic techniques were employed to examine potential relationships between such psychological traits and a specific measure--pre-ejection period (PEP)--of sympathic influence on the heart. Forty-nine undergraduate men performed a mental arithmetic task while continuous measures of PEP and interbeat interval (IBI) were collected. The subjects then completed questionnaires measuring anger expression, hostility, and trait anxiety. Analyses of variance (ANOVAs) showed a significant main effect for anger-out on PEP change from baseline, but not for IBI. Results also showed that anger-in interacted with anger-out and hostility to affect both PEP and IBI changes significantly. Other results indicated that subjects in the high anger-in/low anger-out and high anger-in/low hostility groups did not show significant PEP change, although they nevertheless showed significant IBI change. These results highlight the importance of the consideration of interactions among traits in predicting cardiac reactivity and of the importance of measuring specific indexes of sympathetic arousal.

Adolescent

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

Correlates of the MMPI-2 anger content scale.

Scores on the MMPI-2 anger-content scale were correlated with those on Spielberger's anger expression scale, Zelin, et al.'s anger self-report scale, and the Cook and Medley hostility scale. Subjects were 32 men and 33 women in college. As expected, the anger-content scale correlated significantly with measures of anger awareness, anger expression (anger out versus anger in), and negatively with anger control. There was also a significant correlation with measures of hostility (projection of anger) for men.

Adult

Children's responses to different forms of expression of anger between adults.

Anger is not a homogeneous stimulus, but can vary on a variety of dimensions and domains. This study examined children's responses to anger as a function of: (a) the mode of expression of anger (nonverbal, verbal, verbal-physical), and (b) whether or not anger between others was resolved. Children were presented with videotaped segments of angry and friendly interactions and asked questions concerning their responses. All angry interactions, including non-verbal anger, were perceived as negative events and elicited negative emotions. Unresolved anger was perceived as a far more negative event than resolved anger and induced greater feelings of anger and distress in children. Verbal-physical anger was perceived as the most negative form of expression of anger. Boys reported more angry feelings in response to anger than girls. Distress responding was greater in children from homes in which there was interparent physical aggression and in children with behavior problems. Finally, the utility of this methodology is supported by relatively high test-retest reliability and limited evidence of context effects.

Adaptation, Psychological

Anger assessment and reactivity to stress.

This study compared a questionnaire method to an interview method of anger assessment in predicting reactivity to a stressor and explored possible associations between anger expression and reactivity to a stressor. Blood pressure, heart rate and plasma catecholamines were measured in 40 normotensive subjects before and after a 5 min mental arithmetic task. The questionnaire and interview anger scores were related (p = 0.03). Anger expressed outward was associated with lower heart rate (p = 0.005) and norepinephrine (p = 0.01) reactivity to the stressor. The results suggest that self report questionnaires may be a reliable and inexpensive way to evaluate anger in the context of reactivity to stressors and that anger expression, particularly anger expressed outward, may be related to decreased heart rate and norepinephrine reactivity. The relationship between anger expression and reactivity to stressors may provide insight into the mechanisms linking anger, blood pressure and incidence of cardiovascular disease.

Adult