A test of Spielberger's state-trait theory of anger with adolescents: five hypotheses

Approaches to studying emotion using physiological responses to spoken narratives: A scoping review

Narratives are effective tools for evoking emotions, and physiological measurements provide a means of objectively assessing emotional reactions - making them a potentially powerful pair of tools for studying emotional processes. However, extent research combining emotional narratives and physiological measurement varies widely in design and application, making it challenging to identify previous work, consolidate findings, and design effective experiments. Our scoping review explores the use of auditory emotional narratives and physiological measures in research, examining paradigms, study populations, and represented emotions. Following the PRISMA-ScR Checklist, we searched five databases for peer-reviewed experimental studies that used spoken narratives to induce emotion and reported autonomic physiological measures. Among 3466 titles screened and 653 articles reviewed, 110 studies were included. Our exploration revealed a variety of applications and experimental paradigms; emotional narratives paired with physiological measures have been used to study diverse topics and populations, including neurotypical and clinical groups. Although incomparable designs and sometimes contradictory results precluded general recommendations as regards which physiological measures to use when designing new studies, as a whole, the body of work suggests that these tools can be valuable to study emotions. Our review offers an overview of research employing narratives and physiological measures for emotion study, and highlights weaknesses in reporting practices and gaps in our knowledge concerning the robustness and specificity of physiological measures as indices of emotion. We discuss study design considerations and transparent reporting, to facilitate future using emotional narratives and physiological measures in studying emotions.

Everyday discrimination, emotion, and daily interactions during adolescence

The present study examined whether everyday discrimination relates to the frequency of adolescents' positive and negative daily social interactions and whether these associations are driven by anger and positive emotion. Adolescents (N = 334) participated in a three-wave longitudinal study, in which they completed surveys regarding everyday discrimination, anger, and positive emotion, as well as 15 daily reports of conflict and getting along with friends and family. Higher everyday discrimination was related to more daily conflicts and fewer experiences of getting along with other people. Longitudinal models also provided preliminary evidence that everyday discrimination was associated with daily conflicts 4 years later indirectly through anger. Overall, results suggest everyday discrimination relates to adolescents' daily experiences, potentially through differences in emotion.

Trait anger representation in microstructural white matter tracts: A diffusion MRI study

BACKGROUND

Understanding the microstructure of the brain that underlies emotions is of pivotal importance for psychology and psychiatry. Herein, we investigated white matter (WM) tracts associated with anger using the diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (DMRI) connectometry approach while exploring potential sex differences.

METHODS

225 healthy participants from the LEMON database were evaluated using the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory (STAXI). WM images were prepared and analyzed with DMRI. Multiple regression models were fitted to address the correlation of local connectomes with STAXI components with age and handedness as covariates.

RESULTS

There were no statistically significant differences in state anger and trait anger between males and females (p = 0.55 and 0.30, respectively). DMRI connectometry revealed that quantitative anisotropy (QA) values in the bilateral corticospinal tract (CST), splenium of corpus callosum (SCC), middle cerebellar peduncle, left inferior cerebellar peduncle, left cingulum, and left fornix were negatively correlated with trait anger and trait anger temperament (TAT) in males. In contrast, the QA values in the bilateral CST and SCC showed a positive correlation with trait anger and TAT in females, which, however, did not reach statistical significance.

LIMITATIONS

The cross-sectional design and self-reported measures of anger limit the generalizability of our results.

CONCLUSIONS

This is the first DMRI connectometry study to investigate WM circuits involved in anger. We found that the pathways associated with the limbic system and movement-related regions were involved in trait anger and anger expression in men, while no brain pathways showed a significant relationship with anger in women.

Linking violent video games to cyberaggression among college students: A cross-sectional study

To explore the relationship between exposure to violent video games and college students' cyberaggressive behavior and its internal mechanism, a cross-sectional survey was carried out with a sample of 1141 college students who completed the Violent Video Game Listing Questionnaire (VVLQ), Adolescent Online Aggressive Behavior Scale (AOABS), Beliefs Supportive of Violence Scale (BSVS), and Trait Anger Scale (TAS). The results showed that (1) exposure to violent video games was positively associated with college students' cyberaggressive behavior; (2) trait anger moderated the positive relationship between exposure to violent video games and college students' cyberaggressive behavior; (3) trait anger moderated the positive relationship between exposure to violent video games and college students' attitude toward violence; (4) attitude toward violence acted as a partial mediator in the positive relationship between exposure to violent video games and college students' cyberaggressive behavior; and (5) through attitude toward violence, trait anger plays a mediated moderating role in the positive relationship between exposure to violent video games and college students' aggressive behavior.

Differential time varying associations among affective states and suicidal ideation among adolescents following hospital discharge

Suicide is a major public health problem among adolescents. Identifying factors that confer increased risk for suicidal ideation, particularly during the high-risk period following psychiatric hospitalization, is essential for preventing suicide in this population. Negative and positive affect are two such important modifiable risk factors. This study examined relationships between specific affective states and suicidal ideation, collected via daily diary, as continuous functions of time among discharged adolescents. Adolescents hospitalized for suicidal ideation and/or behavior responded to daily surveys for four weeks after discharge (N = 34; 952 observations). Time-varying effects models (TVEM) were used to predict same- and next-day suicidal ideation. Examining between-persons effects, adolescents reporting greater misery and less happiness compared to others had a significantly increased likelihood of same-day suicidal ideation; between-person anger was not significantly associated with suicidal ideation. Within-persons effects suggested that elevated same-day, but not previous-day, misery and anger were associated with suicidal ideation. Elevated within-person happiness was protective for same-day suicidal ideation, but was also associated with next-day suicidal ideation. These findings begin to clarify not only which, but when, specific affective processes influence suicidal ideation for discharged adolescents. These dynamic risk factors represent modifiable treatment targets relevant for real-time interventions.

Parental bonding and adolescent bullying perpetration: Examining sequential indirect effects of anxiety and anger-in

The purpose of the current study was to examine how perceived parental bonding indirectly affects bullying perpetration through adolescent psycho-emotional states. Using structural equation modeling, the authors tested a comprehensive model, wherein lack of parental caring was associated with increased adolescent anxiety and suppressed anger, which was associated with a greater risk of bullying perpetration. Data were collected from 669 middle school students (458 males, 211 females) in the southeastern region of South Korea. Participants completed the Korean versions of the Parental Bonding Inventory, Revised Children’s Manifest Anxiety Scale, and State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory, as well as, the Olweus Bullying Questionnaire. Results demonstrated that parental bonding was negatively associated with adolescent anxiety; adolescent anxiety was positively related to adolescent anger-in; and adolescent anger-in was positively associated with bullying perpetration. Neither adolescent anxiety nor anger-in directly linked the relationship between parental bonding and bullying perpetration. However, the results partially supported the hypothesized model in that maternal parental bonding indirectly influenced bullying perpetration through adolescent anxiety and subsequently through anger-in. Together, the present findings illuminate a potential underlying mechanism that adolescent psycho-emotional states bridge parental bonding and bullying behaviors. Interventions designed to build quality parent-child relationships and emotion regulation strategies may reduce bullying perpetration particularly among adolescents who developed poor bonds with their mothers.

Prediction of Anger Expression of Individuals with Psychiatric Disorders using the Developed Computational Codes based on the Various Soft Computing Algorithms

Anger is defined as a psychobiological emotional state that consists of feelings varying in intensity from mild irritation or annoyance to intense fury and rage. Dysfunction in anger regulation is marker of most psychiatric disorders. The most important point about anger regulation by the individuals is how to express anger and control it. The purpose of the present study is to predict the anger expression from the anger experience in individuals with psychiatric disorder for assessment of how to express and control the anger. To this end, the number of 3,000 subjects of individuals with clinical disorders had filled in the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory-II (STAXI-II). After removing the uncertain diagnoses (900 subjects), the number of 2,100 data was considered in the analysis. Then, the computational codes based on three soft computing algorithms, including Radial Basis Function (RBF), Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) and Decision Tree (DT) were developed to predict the scales of anger expression of the individuals with psychiatric disorders. The scales of anger experience were used as input data of the developed computational codes. Comparison between the results obtained from the DT, RBF and ANFIS algorithms show that all the developed soft computing algorithms forecast the anger expression scales with an acceptable accuracy. However, the accuracy of the DT algorithm is better than the other algorithms.

Relationship between anger and drug addiction potential as factors affecting the health of medical students

BACKGROUND

One of the psychobehavioral factors that can predict drug abuse in students is anger. This study aimed to evaluate the association between anger and drug addiction potential in medical students in Iran in relation to their gender and college.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This descriptive and analytical cross-sectional study was conducted on 373 students of five colleges at Lorestan University of Medical Sciences in Iran. For collecting data, Persian versions of state-trait anger expression inventory-2 and addiction potential scale were employed. Data were analyzed in SPSS software using t-test, one-way ANOVA, and Pearson correlation test.

RESULTS

There was a significant positive relationship between subjective components of anger (sate anger, trait anger, anger expression-out, and anger expression-in) and addiction potential in samples (P < 0.05), while anger regulation components (anger control-in and anger control-out) had significant negative correlation with addiction potential (P < 0.05). Moreover, a significant difference was found in mean addiction potential scores between samples based on gender and college. With respect to mean anger scores, the difference between students based on gender was significant only in terms of state anger and anger expression-in, while we found no significant difference between them based on college except in anger expression-out (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Subjective components of anger can predict drug addiction potential in medical students. It is recommended that anger management programs should be provided to the medical students as one of the most important community groups in the field of public health.

Angry thoughts in Spanish drivers and their relationship with crash-related events. The mediation effect of aggressive and risky driving

Several studies have related aggressive and risky driving behaviours to accidents. However, the cognitive processes associated with driving aggression have received very little attention in the scientific literature. With the aim of shedding light on this topic, the present research was carried out on a sample of 414 participants in order to validate the Driver's Angry Thoughts Questionnaire (DATQ) with a sample of Spanish drivers and to test the hypothesis of the mediation effect of aggressive and risky driving on the relationship between drivers' angry thoughts and crash-related events. The results showed a good fit with the five-factor model of the questionnaire (Judgmental and Disbelieving Thinking, Pejorative Labelling and Verbally Aggressive Thinking, Revenge and Retaliatory Thinking, Physically Aggressive Thinking, and Coping Self-Instruction). Moreover, slight gender differences were observed in drivers' angry thoughts, with women scoring higher than men (η²=0.03). However, younger drivers had higher scores than older drivers in general (η²=0.06). Finally, several mediation effects of aggressive driving and risky driving on the relationship between aggressive thinking and the crash-related events were found. Implications of the results for research in traffic psychology and clinical assessment of aggressive drivers as well as limitations of the study are discussed.

The role of emotions in depression and aggression

Background

Depression is a broad and heterogeneous diagnostic grouping, central to which is depressed mood or inability to enjoy most activities. Depressive symptoms are frequently accompanied by conduct problems stemming from anger. It is very important to know the interrelation of these emotions very well to be able to help adolescents to manage them more easily. The main aim of this article is to present the problem of interaction between negative affects (emotional instability, anger state and trait, physical and verbal aggression and depression) analyzing the different relationship through the time in spanish sample.

Material and Methods

The sample included 470 adolescents (192 boys and 225 girls) in a three-wave longitudinal study in Valencia (Spain). The mean age was 14.70 in the first wave. Structural equations modelling was employed to explore two longitudinal models.

Results

The results show differences based on sex, and that an internalised variable, like emotional instability, is relevant to prevent the appearance of depression directly in girls and also the later appearance of aggression as long as anger mediates, in both boys and girls, so the control of anger becomes an important goal to control the rest of the negative affects.

Conclusions

This results has consequences in the preparation of all programmes that try to establish an emotional control on adolescents, as not only has to be taken into account as a direct goal the control of externalised emotions like anger, but internalised emotions like emotional instability have to be taken into account also. Furthermore, it is also made apparent that not only the punctual explosions and externalisation of anger have to be worked on, but the temperamental aspects which are the base of anger trait have to be worked on too.

Key words:Emotional instability, anger, depression, aggression, negative emotions, adolescence.