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Abstract
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VioLit summary:
OBJECTIVE:
The intent of this article by Deffenbacher et al. was to examine one study related to the understanding of general anger, and one study relevant to the treatment of general anger.
METHODOLOGY:
In the first study, the authors employed a quasi-experimental design with a quota sampling based on a division between male and female subjects. Twenty-nine students (14 male, 15 female) were selected from approximately 450 students enrolled in three introductory psychology classes. Each of the 29 students was selected because they achieved the highest scores (of their sex) on the State-Trait Anger Scale (STAS-T; Speilberger, Jacobs, Russell and Crane 1983). These students were compared to a group of 31 students (15 male, 16 female) from the same classes who obtained the lowest scores (of their sex) on the same scale. Three dimensions of anger were then assessed: 1) General anger was measured with the use of the State-Trait Anger Scale and included an overall, self-reported level of anger. 2) Person-specific anger was measured with a scale developed by Hazeleus and Deffenbacher (1986) and included anger in situations that were unique to the individual. 3) State anger was also measured with the STAS and included levels of physiological arousal and the coping strategies used when aroused. The Trait Anxiety Inventory (TAI; Spielberger, Gorsuch and Lushene, 1970) explored the relationship between general anxiety and anger. A sex x anger MANOVA was then run on nonstate measures and on state measures.
In the second study, a relaxation coping skills was tested for its effectiveness at anger reduction. The 29 high anger subjects participated in this study, who were then randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. Measurements from the first study were used again, with omission of some questions that were not pertinent to the study of individuals who were pre-identified as angry. The relaxation treatment included a weekly, one hour, small group session for six weeks. Sessions one and two introduced a self-control rationale, progressive relaxation training and the coping skills of relaxing through deep breathing and relaxation imagery. Sessions three through six focused on coping skill application. Assessments were conduced a week before, a week after, five weeks after, and one year after the treatment. Two sex x treatment MANOVAs were run to see if the treatment condition or sex of subjects were related to variables prior to intervention. At the five-week follow-up, a repeated-measures ANCOVA was employed to covary pretreatment against posttreatment and follow-up scores.
FINDINGS/DISCUSSION:
In the first study, sex did not emerge as a significant variable within the low and high anger scores, so the data was reported according to the two groups of high anger and low anger, only. The high anger group was significantly more angry than the low anger group, and the low anger group reported greater constructive coping tendencies. The general anger inventories were positively correlated with each other and with the other anger indices. Heart rate measures, part of the state anger rating, were the only ones that demonstrated no significant difference between high and low anger groups. An unexpected finding was that the high anger subjects were significantly more anxious than low anger subjects.
In the second study, sex again failed to emerge as a significant variable in the sex x treatment interaction. Correlations between the premeasures for high anger subjects revealed ten significant correlations out of 45. Coping through verbal antagonism accounted for five of these. Tendencies for physical antagonism were correlated positively with state anger and negatively with constructive coping. The STAS-T also correlated negatively with constructive coping. During the ANCOVA analysis, sex once again failed to emerge as a significant variable and subjects generally did not change between posttreatment and follow-up. In both of these analyses, treatment subjects reported less anger on indices of general anger, lower tendencies to cope via antagonism and an increase in coping through constructive action. A one-year follow-up indicated that subjects in the treatment group continued to report significantly less general anger and anxiety than subjects in the control group.
AUTHORS' RECOMMENDATIONS:
The authors suggested that general anxiety should be considered as part of the problem for many high anger college students, and perhaps for others as well. They also suggested evaluation of an anger reduction method that combined cognitive conditions with a relaxation component.
(CSPV Abstract - Copyright © 1992-2007 by the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence, Institute of Behavioral Science, Regents of the University of Colorado)
Language: en |