Anger Experience and Expression Among Male Dating Violence Perpetrators During Anger Arousal

Abstract

The relationship between dating violence and anger experience and expression were investigatedin samples of 17 men who reported at least one incident of physical aggression toward afemale dating partner (DV) and of 16 men who reported a nonviolent interaction history (NV).Participants completed the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory (STAXI) and performed thearticulated thoughts during simulated situations (ATSS) paradigm while listening to anger-arousingaudiotapes. Participants' thought articulations were coded for anger-related affect,other negative emotions, and aggressive verbalizations. Results indicated that relative to NVmen, DV men scored significantly higher on STAXI Trait Anger, Anger In, and Anger Out scalesand lower on STAXI Anger Control. DV men articulated more aggressive verbalizations duringATSS anger arousal than did NV men. However, the groups did not differ on the number of angryverbalizations. The findings are interpreted in the context of social learning theories of partnerviolence.

Child maltreatment and adult criminal behavior: Does criminal thinking explain the association?

“…These findings are in accord with existing theories and research showing linkages between specific forms of child maltreatment and various cognitive distortions (Barriga et al, 2000;Dodge et al, 1995;Eckhardt and Jamison, 2002;Hatch-Maillette et al, 2001). An exception to this pattern was that sexual abuse was not associated with any measured thinking styles.…”

“…Various aspects of proactive and reactive criminal thinking have been differentially linked to certain types of criminal behavior (i.e., sexual, violent nonsexual, or nonviolent offenses; Barriga et al, 2000;Eckhardt and Jamison, 2002;HatchMaillette et al, 2001). Generally, having a history of sexual offenses has been associated with mollification (e.g., a belief that sexual contact benefits children; Marziano et al, 2006;Stermac and Segal, 1989), entitlement (Hanson, Gizzarelli, & Scott, 1994), and power orientation (Hatch-Maillette et al, 2001).…”

Trauma cognitions and partner aggression: Anger, hostility, and rumination as intervening mechanisms.

“…A recent meta-analysis of 61 studies revealed a moderate association between trait anger and aggression, which increased with aggression severity (Birkley & Eckhardt, 2015). In studies examining anger expression, or the tendency to express anger through verbal or physical aggression, maritally violent men have been found to score higher on measures of maladaptive anger expression and to be more likely to engage in outward anger expression during an anger-arousing situation compared with nonviolent men (Barbour, Eckhardt, Davison, & Kassinove, 1998; Eckhardt, Jamison, & Watts, 2002). Several studies have also found that daily self-reported intense anger predicted daily IPA perpetration, providing further evidence of a temporal relationship between proximal anger and IPA (Crane & Testa, 2014; Elkins, Moore, McNulty, Kivisto, & Handsel, 2013).…”

Attitudes Towards the Use of Violence and Partner-Directed Aggression

“…Cognitive distortions and maladaptive beliefs regarding violence in relationships are associated with IPV perpetration (Eckhardt & Dye, 2000;Eckhardt & Jamison, 2002; and are incorporated as fundamental components of major theoretical orientations regarding partner abuse (Murphy & Eckhardt, 2005;Pence & Paymar, 1993). Traditionally, distorted thought patterns and beliefs have been evaluated using explicit self-report measures (e.g., questionnaires) as the primary means of indexing the extent to which a person endorses such attitudes.…”