There is more to anger coping than "in" or "out"

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Social Psychology
• Behavioral Science

Background:

• Traditional models of anger coping are often limited to dichotomies like "anger-in" and "anger-out."
• Growing dissatisfaction exists with these simplistic views, necessitating a more comprehensive approach to understanding anger responses.

Purpose of the Study:

• To challenge the dichotomized view of anger coping.
• To develop and validate a new, empirically derived measure of anger coping styles.
• To identify a more nuanced, multi-factorial model of anger responses.

Main Methods:

• Conducted three studies with student and community adult samples.
• Developed the Behavioral Anger Response Questionnaire (BARQ) through empirical derivation.
• Utilized factor analysis to validate the BARQ and identify underlying factors of anger coping.

Main Results:

• The dichotomous "anger-in" vs. "anger-out" model is considered too coarse.
• A six-factor model for anger coping is proposed: Direct Anger-Out, Assertion, Support-Seeking, Diffusion, Avoidance, and Rumination.
• Women reported using a wider range of coping styles, particularly social support-seeking and anger diffusion, compared to men.

Conclusions:

• The Behavioral Anger Response Questionnaire (BARQ) offers a psychometrically sound and empirically validated measure for assessing anger coping.
• A six-factor model provides a more appropriate and comprehensive framework for understanding diverse anger response styles.
• Gender differences in anger coping strategies highlight the need for tailored interventions and further research.