National polls suggest that anger has become an important area of personal and societal concern; we appear to be more rude and selfish in general and angrier on roads, in airports, at work, and in our public schools. Additionally, evidence suggests a link between expressed anger and increased risk for cardiovascular diseases.
This increase in anger response in this country probably has multiple causes including: genetic arousal mechanisms, chaotic family backgrounds, the stress of modern living (e.g., fast pace, change, lack of privacy, competition for resources, and emotional disconnect), and unrealistic expectations (e.g.,” I am entitled to the same things others have” or “everything should go the way I plan”).
This paper compares the effectiveness of two educations approaches for reducing anger felt and anger expressed. College students self-selected to participate in one of two courses designed to reduce stress and lower symptoms of anger and mental illness.
Participants in the Stress Management course received an overview of health-related stress theory and completed a variety of self-assessments to raise awareness of stress symptoms. Several basic stress management skills were introduced in class and practiced as homework including: breathing, relaxation training, exercise, diet, sleep, communication, and time management.
Participants in the Mental Health Skills course were taught to identify symptoms of problem anger as well as anxiety, depression, and poor self-esteem. In class, they learned mental health skills in small groups and then practiced these skills individually as homework. In addition to breathing, relaxation training, exercise, diet, and sleep; anger skills also included: identifying costs/benefits and degrees of anger, cognitive restructuring, healing inner hurts, conflict resolution, empathy, and forgiveness.
Participants were measured at the beginning and end of the semester on four scales: 1. Cynicism (how hostile the world is perceived), 2. Hostile Affect (amount of hostility expressed in relationships), 3. Trait Anger (amount of anger admitted to as part of personality), and 4. Anger Expression/Control [1-2 Cook-Medley MMPI, 3-4 Spielberger Trait Anger/Expression Inventory]. The only measure to show significant improvement was Anger Expression/Control in the mental health skills group (mean 28.5ŕ21.6, p=.002). This finding suggests that although changing trait anger and hostility may be difficult, the skills taught in the mental health skills course might hold promise for teaching individuals to control their anger expression.
Learner Objectives: µ Explain how anger can be measured. µ Describe a battery of skills shown to reduce anger expression in college stu