Anger and Anger Management
The topic being discussed here is regarding anger and anger management, it is important to select this topic since it deals with a key psychological activity which is often difficult to understand for many psychologists. This topic has extreme relevance for human beings since it is important to assess what sorts of changes occur during the expression of anger and how anger management deals with it. This topic has its significance to the social environment of UAE since there exist workers of many fields here and all of them go through phases of anger throughout their professional life. The aim of this paper is to study the overall effects and properties of anger and anger management techniques.
Hypothesis
This paper will provide a significant insight into the topic of anger as well as anger management and would take many case examples from real life which would emphasize upon how this subject matter affects ordinary individuals.
Reviews
CBT to CDT: Toward a developmental paradigm for conceptualizing anger management
The study conducted by Tate in 1998 assesses that destructive responses to anger present a growing problem in the overall society, and programs for managing adult anger are proliferating across the nation. Many of the anger management interventions are grounded in cognitive behavioral paradigms which focus on controlling one’s thoughts as well as behaviors (Burns, 2004). While these programs show some effectiveness, they are not properly addressing the main problem. This study is based on the idea that the main reason for this failure might be the inadequate theoretical frameworks that form the underpinnings of these programs.
Main directional hypotheses for this research suggested that there would be a negative relationship between the developmental levels of ego of adults referred to anger management and batterer intervention programs and their trait anger and destructive response to anger scores, it also suggested that there would be a positive relationship between their ego levels and constructive response to anger scores. In this reference, the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory-2 (STAXI-2) was used to assess trait anger; the Washington University Sentence Completion Test (WUSCT) was used in order to assess ego developmental levels; and the Anger Response Inventory (ARI) was used in order to assess both constructive as well as destructive responses to anger.
It was observed that a statistically significant positive relationship was emerged between ego developmental level and constructive responses to anger, and that a significant negative relationship was observed between ego developmental level and one dimension of destructive responses to anger (Lench, 2004). All of these results suggest that individuals at higher ego levels might be more capable of responding towards anger in constructive, as compared to destructive ways. The results attained by the researchers also offer promising evidence that Cognitive Developmental Theory may provide a more adequate theoretical foundation upon which to suggest more effective anger interventions through fostering upon psychological and personality growth.
Anger management style moderates effects of emotion suppression during initial stress on pain and cardiovascular responses during subsequent pain-induction
The author John Burns argue in 2007 that suppression of emotion, anger in particular, might be linked to heightened intensity of pain during a painful event. It is not clear at all whether a person’s anger management style moderates effects on pain intensity and cardiovascular responses during the event of pain (Burns, 2005).
The purpose of the study was to determine whether (a) trait anger-in and/or a trait anger-out moderate effects of Emotion-Induction ×Emotion Suppression manipulations during mental arithmetic upon pain intensity and on different cardiovascular responses during and following a pain task, such that any type of so called ‘mismatch’ relationships emerge, and (b) general emotional expressiveness tends to account for these mentioned effects. In the methodology section of the study, healthy non-patients (N=187) were assigned to 1 of 6 of the total conditions for a mental arithmetic task. Here, cells were formed by crossing 2 Emotion-Induction which were anxiety and anger ×3 Emotion Suppression which were non-suppression, expressive and experiential conditions. After mental arithmetic, the participating individuals underwent a cold presser which was followed by recovery. Systolic blood pressure (SBP), heart rate (HR), diastolic BP (DBP), and ratings of pain intensity were thoroughly recorded. A four-way interaction was observed from pain intensity: Only for those individuals with experiential suppression/anger-induction condition, anger-out was related significantly as compared to pain recovery. It was concluded that a mismatch situation may apply for high anger-out individuals who suppress their overall emotion in a certain circumstance and thereby might suffer from greater amount of discomfort as well as physiological responsiveness to pain feelings than high anger-out individuals who do not have to suppress.
Anger and its management
The author Anju in 2013 says that everybody feels anger from one time to another. Individuals have been documented feeling anger since the ancient biblical times when Lord was considered to be angry. It was seen that babies even exhibit signs that are interpreted as anger, this includes screaming or crying (Burns, 2005). Anger is not unique to anyone, animals also have the sense to feel as well as express anger. In our daily lives we get angry over at least a small thing on almost a regular basis, whether it is with a spouse or loved one, or perhaps with an authoritative figure. Anger is often deemed as a healthy emotion when it is appropriately expressed. It can also have devastating effects upon a person. Anger is at the root of many social problems, e.g. domestic violence, verbal and physical abuse and community violence etc (Schieman, 2000). Problematic interpersonal relations might also disrupt employment activities due to the interference of anger upon workplace performance. It is often seen that anger can destroy obstruct problem solving skills, destroy relationships, and increase social withdrawal. Anger impacts our physical health. For example, it can affect immune system; contribute towards headaches, severe gastrointestinal symptoms, hypertension, migraines, and coronary artery disease. Anger is also deemed as a healthy and valid emotion but many of ordinary individuals are taught not to express anger. There’s no doubt about it that we live in an angry society in which signs that anger abounds are everywhere. Anger is deemed as a global phenomenon and referrals to anger management programs have increased.
Anger management as a component of inpatient residential treatment with adolescents: A multiple case study
The author Andrew says in 2007 that the purpose of his study was to assess the value of anger management training as an ingredient of inpatient residential treatment with small children or adolescents. Four assessment procedures alongside interviews and record reviews were employed by the author in order to gather information across a wide spectrum of personality and behavioral variables. The assessment addressed were consisted of the Revised Problem Behavior Checklist (RPBC-PAR Edition),pre and post testing with the Millon Adolescent Clinical Inventory (MACI), the Novaco Anger Scale and Provocation Inventory (NAS-PI), the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory-2 (STAXI-2), and completion by participating individuals of two interview questionnaires adapted by the researcher from Fitzsimmons to properly measure behavioral and personal characteristics. A case study of each participating individual was employed in order to identify additionally relevant variables.
Research was completed with ten adolescents at an inpatient residential treatment center. The study consisted of 3 phases: 4 weeks of anger management training intervention occurring twice weekly for four consecutive weeks; pre-anger management training data-gathering in which pretests were administered; and post-training data-gathering in which post tests were administered and case study information was compiled.
The results assessed if the anger management training sessions produced changes in participating individuals, primarily in how they perceive themselves as well as their abilities. The assessment criteria should be evaluated which is relative to effectiveness in measuring change (Burns, 2007).
Help for hotheads; No one’s sure of its benefits, but anger management is increasingly recommended — or ordered — for those who can’t control their rage.
The author Martin says in 2004 that the judicial system has created the demand for anger management training. Judges across the nation use the various training programs as a means to ease overcrowding in jails, and unclog courtroom calendars. It may cost a county $100 a day to lock up a defendant for the crime of road rage, physical assaults or disturbing the peace. The courts can go on to release the defendant and order the person to enroll at any anger management program (Bruehl, 2007).
Most classes are led by teachers with backgrounds in counseling, they go on to help clients decide what is worth getting angry over and when anger is appropriate to be shown, how to behave assertively — not destructively or aggressively — to attain what you want (Bruehl, 2007). Programs, which may go on from ten weeks to a year, cost from $200 to about $1,000. In part because of the rapid rise in popularity of such programs, no state or national standards govern what should be provided as a lesson in anger management or who should be qualified to teach it. Although exact figures are difficult to come by, many estimate that about seven thousand individuals have been trained in U.S to teach such courses.
Effectiveness of a rural anger management program in preventing domestic violence recidivism
In the paper given by James in 2005, domestic violence in a rural area was thoroughly investigated with special attention given to the association of reduced recidivism of an anger management program. In doing so, the author explored a total of 9 hypotheses concerned with subjects who had been convicted on charges from violent behavior and how factors like gender, prior criminal history, and age were relative with completion of anger management training and recurrence of the various types of violent behaviors. Data was gathered from various different court documents for every domestic violence case which have occurred in a rural county during a 5 year period. Cross-tabulation of many different categorical results revealed incidence and rates by age, gender, and anger management program completion status. Individuals with prior criminal history were observed to be more likely to be the offenders of domestic violence and more likely to re-offend. Most of the observed subjects did not complete an anger management program, but many of those who did, completion was found to be relative with modestly reduced recidivism. Neither recidivism rates nor anger management completion were found to be associated with gender or age of individuals. Practical ways to apply findings from various researches related to anger management are proposed for human services, judicial, and law enforcement areas (Thomas, 2001). Future research is suggested by the author to replicate findings through longitudinal studies and to implement better comprehensive evaluations of domestic violence interventions throughout rural human services practices.
Choices: Anger and Anger Management in Rehabilitative Care
The author Linda says in 2013 that violent acts are on rise and rehabilitation providers as caregivers may encounter anger on a daily basis. The purpose of the article is to discuss anger and describe anger management as well as its related strategies based on behavioral interventions grounded in Choice Theory. The application of choice theory to anger is the belief that individuals are not externally but internally motivated, and that outside events do not make people do almost any sort of thing (Gold, 2007). Thus, what drives a person’s anger behaviors are internally developed notions of what is satisfying for them.
Anger becomes a choice for almost all of the individuals along with its management (Shatzman, 2003). Choosing strategies to manage anger is the main step to reducing the potential for angry emotions to escalate up to the point of violent and unwanted acts that threaten clients and caregiver’s safety. Anger-free environments tend to greatly promote mental/physical health and therefore go on to establish elements of safe living especially at the working environments in a variety of rehabilitative type of care settings.
Pitching a fit does anger management training help stem violence in the workplace
The paper argues that anger-management became a buzzword during the previous decade. Judges oftentimes will mandate that an individual get anger-management counseling, only when they seem unable to control their overall behavior and it is partly why they are present at the court system. Anger management is most of the time included in drug treatment as well as in couples counseling.
In most instances, it has been observed that a worker who demonstrates inappropriate anger at his or her colleagues is using the workplace as a venting mechanism for feelings that have little to do with the actual job (Blackburn, 2000). Therefore, it is due to such acts that unwanted acts happen and these acts should be avoided by both employees as well as employers at a given workplace so that the flow of work is carried on with relative ease.
Anger and depression management: Psycho-educational skill training interventions for women caregivers of a relative with dementia
The author David in 2003 examines the short-term impact of two theoretically based psycho-educational small group interventions having distressed caregivers, and also the role of specific mediator and moderator variables on the mentioned caregiver outcomes. After discussing the results, the author conclude that the data are consistent with a growing body of evidence which goes on to support the effectiveness of skills training especially among the small groups, in order to improve both the affective states as well as the type of coping strategies used by caregivers. Care is a very important factor of anger management (Kellner, 1999).
Clinical outcome and client satisfaction of an anger management group program
This retrospective quasi-experimental study presented by author Mary in 2001 evaluated the effectiveness of an anger management group program for various different clients with mental health problems. The program as discussed by the author was offered by outpatient mental health occupational therapy services of a selected community general hospital. 64 clients, about 59 percent were suffering from depressive disorder, enrolled in the program to participate in the study. The post-treatment and pre-treatment scores of the participants on the Anger Control Inventory were compared with the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory. The results pointed towards a significant decremented in the overall experience of intense anger alongside better improvement in behavioral and cognitive coping mechanisms, and also better improvement rate in anger control after treatment. Most of the respondents found the program very helpful. The pace of the program alongside the variety of learning activities were seen as areas for improvement. The results of the overall program showed that it had positive impact on anger management. Useful suggestions were thoroughly identified for continuous quality improvements which could help the program. Anger management thrives on suggestions (Coon, 2003).
Anger Management May Not Help at All
The author Benedict argues in 2004 that Ron Artest is not the only male athlete to be sent for anger-management training. Earlier that year, Los Angeles Dodger outfielder Milton Bradley gave a statement that he would seek anger counseling. Some anger-control techniques even seem to make individuals to become more apt to lose their temper (Coon, 2003). The author states that in a reanalysis of the data if St. John’s researchers, it was found that programs that encouraged individuals to feel their rage and to express it in counseling sessions were associated with terrible outcomes. The findings coincide with the message from a wide variety of studies in the 1990’s in which various different psychologists found that venting anger, for example, by hitting an object, in fact goes on to increase anger since it goes on to intensify physical sensations of fury like flushed face or a racing heart.
Conclusion
It was discussed throughout the paper that the phenomena of anger management is gaining rapid acceptance in the general society mainly due to the fact that more and more individuals are found to get themselves into trouble. This is also due to the fact that they tend to fail in controlling their anger which goes on to give them a terrible result.
References
Bruehl, S., al’Absi, M., France, C. R., France, J., Harju, A., Burns, J. W., & Chung, O. Y. (2007). Anger management style and endogenous opioid function: Is gender a moderator? Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 30(3), 209-19.
Burns, J. W., & Bruehl, S. (2005). Anger management style, opioid analgesic use, and chronic pain severity: A test of the opioid-deficit hypothesis. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 28(6), 555-63.
Burns, J. W., PhD., Bruehl, S., PhD., & Caceres, C., PhD. (2004). Anger management style, blood pressure reactivity, and acute pain sensitivity: Evidence for “trait x situation” models. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 27(3), 195-204.
Burns, J. W., PhD., Quartana, P. J., M.S., & Bruehl, S., PhD. (2007). Anger management style moderates effects of emotion suppression during initial stress on pain and cardiovascular responses during subsequent pain-induction. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 34(2), 154-65.
Cara Shatzman, C. p. (2003, Apr 18). ‘Anger Management’ Is Not Worth Your Trip Out The Door. The Santa Fe New Mexican.
Coon, D. W., Thompson, L., Steffen, A., Sorocco, K., & Gallagher-Thompson, D. (2003). Anger and depression management: Psychoeducational skill training interventions for women caregivers of a relative with dementia. The Gerontologist,43(5), 678-89.
DOUG BLACKBURN, S. W. (2000, Jun 26). Pitching a fit does anger management training help stem violence in the workplace? Times Union
Gold, A. L. (2007). Anger management as a component of inpatient residential treatment with adolescents: A multiple case study. (Order No. 3257729, Northern Arizona University). ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, , 188-198.
Kellner, M. H., & Bry, B. H. (1999). The effects of anger management groups in a day school for emotionally disturbed adolescents. Adolescence, 34(136), 645-51.
Lench, H. C. (2004). Anger Management: Diagnostic Differences and Treatment Implication S. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 23(4), 512-531.
Schieman, S. (2000). Education and the activation, course, and management of anger. Journal of Health and Social Behavior,41(1), 20-39.
Thomas, S. P. (2001). Teaching healthy anger management. Perspectives in Psychiatric Care, 37(2), 41-8.
