Childhood emotional abuse and anger expression in Greek adolescents: a pilot school-based study

Childhood emotional abuse is a prevalent but often under-recognized form of maltreatment associated with emotional dysregulation during adolescence. However, evidence regarding its association with anger expression in community-based adolescent populations remains limited. This pilot cross-sectional study examined the associations between childhood emotional abuse and anger expression among 96 Greek high-school students. Participants completed the Rating of Emotional Abuse in Childhood (REACH) Questionnaire and the Anger Expression Scale for Children (AESC). Descriptive statistics, internal consistency analyses (Cronbach's α and McDonald's ω), and Spearman's rank correlation coefficients were used. Internal consistency was acceptable to excellent across all measures (Cronbach's α = .74-.97; McDonald's ω = .78-.97). Childhood emotional abuse showed a statistically significant positive correlation with anger expression (rs = .59, p < .001), whereas no significant association was observed with anger control (rs = -.08, p = .45). These preliminary findings suggest that higher levels of self-reported childhood emotional abuse are associated with greater anger expression among adolescents, whereas anger control does not appear to be related. Given the pilot nature of the study and its modest convenience sample, the findings should be interpreted with caution. Larger longitudinal studies are needed to clarify these associations and to inform school-based mental health promotion and early intervention strategies.