Aggressive script rehearsal in adult offenders: Relationships with emotion regulation difficulties and aggressive behavior

Abstract

This study explored relationships between self-reported emotion regulation difficulties, frequency of aggressive script rehearsal and aggressive behavior in 129 adult male inmates. Significant moderate positive correlations were found between the frequency of aggressive script rehearsal and (1) emotion regulation difficulties overall, as well as the following dimensions, (2) difficulties controlling impulses when experiencing negative emotions, and (3) confidence in the effectiveness of emotion regulation strategies. Significant weak positive correlations were found between the frequency of aggressive script rehearsal and two emotion regulation difficulty dimensions, (1) a lack of understanding of emotional responses, and (2) difficulties in dealing with goal directed behavior when experiencing uncomfortable emotions. No significant correlations were found between aggressive behavior and emotion regulation difficulties, except for a weak positive correlation between aggressive behavior and difficulties controlling impulses when experiencing negative emotions. Multivariate analyses were used to assess whether the frequency of aggressive script rehearsal moderated the effect of emotion regulation difficulties on aggressive behaviour. Significant improvement in the prediction of aggression resulted from consideration of the interaction between (1) aggressive script rehearsal and difficulties in emotional clarity, and (2) aggressive script rehearsal and awareness of emotional experience, even after accounting for the influence of age and attitudes toward violence.In conclusion, the results suggest that the rehearsal of aggressive scripts may function to regulate emotion, particularly amongst people who are inattentive to their emotions or who have difficulty understanding their emotional experiences.

A study of the relationships between rumination, anger rumination, aggressive script rehearsal, and aggressive behavior in a sample of incarcerated adult males

“…Although this association was strong and positive, it was imperfect, raising the possibility that aggressive script rehearsal may arise independent of anger arousal, consistent with Hosie et al (2021); the functions and emotional correlates of aggressive script rehearsal, as well as the nature of the aggressive behavior that is rehearsed, requires greater scrutiny.…”

“…The complex and overlapping nature of scripts, rumination, and fantasy has resulted in confounded measurement instruments. Since rumination and fantasizing are processes involving repetitive thoughts that are not content-specific (Nolen-Hoeksema et al, 2008), measurement instruments that focus exclusively on these generic processes may be related to aggression, particularly when used in studies of aggressive populations, because these generic processes will be common to people who rehearse aggressive scripts (which are common in offender populations, Hosie et al, 2021); however, the strength of the relationship between these generic measures of rumination and aggression is likely to be weak when compared to measures comprising aggression specific content. For example, the Perseverative Thinking Questionnaire (PTQ, Ehring et al, 2011), includes general rumination-focused statements such as "My thoughts repeat themselves" and "My thoughts take up all of my attention"; these thoughts are not necessarily related to the rehearsal of aggressive scripts or to aggressive behavior (e.g., "My [violent] thoughts repeat themselves" would relate to aggression but "My [sad] thoughts repeat themselves" is unlikely to relate to aggressive behavior).…”

“…It was also hypothesized (H 2 ) that aggressive script rehearsal, rumination, and anger rumination would be positively associated with aggression, with the strongest associations being between aggression and aggressive script rehearsal and the ARS Thoughts of Revenge subscale, because these scales focus on aggressive content. It was also hypothesized (H 3 ) that more frequent aggressive script rehearsal would be associated with aggressive behavior even after controlling for age (since age is inversely associated with the frequency of aggressive script rehearsal; Hosie et al, 2021), rumination, and anger rumination. Finally, it was hypothesized (H 4 ) that aggressive script rehearsal would mediate the relationship between rumination/anger rumination and aggressive behavior when controlling for age.…”

“…the social situations they find themselves in, retrieve and review scripts to guide their behavior, and act according to the script they decide is most appropriate. Associations between the frequency of aggressive script rehearsal and aggressive behavior have been revealed in numerous studies (Daff et al, 2014;Gilbert et al, 2013;Grisso et al, 2000;Hosie et al, 2021;Nagtegaal et al, 2006;Podubinski et al, 2017).…”

“…11Not all aggressive scripts occur within the context of anger rumination; some scripts occur independent of provocation and angry emotions (Hosie et al, 2021), and function to upregulate or sustain a positive emotion, e.g., by planning a provocative violent assault in a predatory or appetitive manner (Ching et al, 2012). …”