Anger and Anger Management Research
(Thursday, March 18, 2004)
Anger Management Improves Heart Health
Source: Archives of Internal Medicine 2002; 162:901-906.
A recent study suggests that men who have poor anger management skills are more likely to suffer a heart attack before age 55 than are their mild-mannered peers. Observation of more than 1,000 men found that those who responded to stress with anger and irritation were three times more likely to be diagnosed with heart disease, and five times more likely to suffer a heart attack before age 55. Study authors noted that the heart attack/disease risk persisted regardless of cholesterol levels, body mass index, and blood pressure. Dr. Patricia Change, the study's lead author emphasized the role of anger management as a tool to reduce the risk of premature heart disease, the leading cause of death in the United States.
Advances in Anger Management
Source: Monitor on Psychology, (32) Number 3, 3 March 2003, p. 54. [link]
Discusses the lack of diagnostic criteria for anger within the psychological community while recognizing the need for a treatment protocol for those who suffer excessive anger. Cites Colorado State University psychologist Jerry Deffenbacher, PhD promoting three strategies, alone or in combination, that have empirical support for helping with the task of anger management. The strategies--relaxation, cognitive therapy and skill development--are not new ideas, but newly applied to anger.
Research backs Anger Management Training for All Pupils
Source: Ananova, July 2002. [link]
A University of Florida study found anger management lessons improved the behaviour of all pupils, not just the troublemakers. Professor Stephen Smith and his team designed a 20-lesson anger management curriculum and tested it on 200 Florida pupils aged 10 and 11. They found classroom 'harmony' improved when the children were taught how to control their temper and avoid trouble.
Anger: The Mismanaged Emotion
Source: Dermatology Nursing 15(4):351-357, 2003 [link] (may require registration for medline site)
Mismanaged anger is a significant problem in health care settings. Research-based information is presented on the angry emotionality that nurses frequently encounter. Gender differences in anger are examined. Strategies are presented for dealing with angry patients, physicians, and colleagues.
Anger Management And PTSD:
Engaging Substance Abuse Patients In Long-Term Treatment
Source: NCP Clinical Quarterly 6(3): Summer 1996 [link]
The treatment consists of 12 weekly 90 minute group sessions that are a mix of insight-oriented exercises about anger, such as discussing anger in the family of origin or reevaluating a past violent incident, and didactic sessions covering basic cognitive-behavioral strategies, such as time-out, relaxation training, assertive behavior, and conflict resolution. Offering a variety of different sessions holds the patients’ interest and encourages them to continue attending the anger management group sessions. The primary objective is to teach patients to monitor their anger and to develop a specific plan for controlling their anger.
Anger: The Deadly Component of "Type A" Personalities
Source: Archives of Internal Medicine, October 27, 1997 [link]
Almost everyone remembers when the research about Type A personalities was made public. It showed that men who were controlling, workaholic, and intense are more likely than others to suffer from heart disease and other stress-related illness. A report by a Duke University research team filled in an important piece of previously missing information about Type A personalities. The team's question was, "What specific personality characteristic causes physical illness?" The answer it found: Anger. The Duke University study showed that cognitive/behavioral stress reduction sessions lowered the level of both anger and anxiety in patients with chronic heart problems, and that their physical improvement was related specifically to a reduction in their anger.
Readiness to Change is a Vital Component in the Success of Anger Management Programs
Source: University of South Australia: Forensic and Applied Psychology Research Group, November 2003. [link]
A previous study of 200 violent offenders in WA and SA, by researchers from UniSA’s Forensic and Applied Psychology Research Group, revealed that offenders who were not ready to undertake treatment showed almost no improvement in anger management after undergoing a treatment program. Offenders who were motivated and ready to work on their anger problems showed greater improvements on a wide range of anger measures.
Anger, Hostility and Smoking
Source: Reuters, February 12, 2004. [link]
A University of California Irvine research team reports that people with hostile and aggressive personality traits may be more likely to become addicted to nicotine. Dr. Steven Potkin, a professor of psychiatry and a brain imaging specialist who led the study calls this the "Born to Smoke" pattern. The study was published in Cognitive Brain Research, January 2004.
The Value of Anger
Source: Burningbird Weblog, July 5, 2002. [link]
Presents results of college research in psychology showing that anger, when properly expressed can be a healthy force for change, overcoming the learned helplessness that frequently keeps people stuck in difficult, dangerous, or disempowering situations. Also a [link] to discussions/feedback from the original post.
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