Role of appraisals in expressed anger after trauma

Abstract

Anger is a common problem in trauma‐exposed individuals. This study investigated factors that contribute to post‐traumatic anger in civilian trauma survivors. Fifty‐one trauma‐exposed individuals were assessed for expressed anger, post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), daily hassles, maladaptive cognitions and blame. PTSD and non‐PTSD participants reported comparable levels of anger. Anger expression was associated with maladaptive appraisals about oneself, daily hassles, and self‐blame. Multiple regression analyses indicated that catastrophic appraisals about oneself and time since trauma were the only significant predictor of anger expression. These findings suggest that the influence of daily hassles on post‐traumatic anger may be mediated by trauma survivors' appraisals.

The role of trauma‐related cognitive processes in the relationship between combat‐PTSD symptom severity and anger expression and control

“…The latter finding is consistent with a proposal that combat veterans who experience a heightened sense of threat posed by the outside world are more likely to respond to perceived threat with elevated expression of anger (Chemtob, Novaco, Hamada, Gross, & Smith, ). In contrast, and as predicted, self‐blame was not significantly related to any of the anger variables, a finding that is consistent with Whiting and Bryant's () results based on a non‐military sample.…”

“…Notably, only one published study to date has investigated the relationship between anger and trauma‐related appraisals as measured by the PTCI (Foa et al., ). Whiting and Bryant () found that in a small non‐military sample of trauma‐exposed individuals, negative cognitions about self and the world were the strongest correlates of anger. With the preliminary findings from this latter study being limited to non‐military trauma, trauma‐related cognitive processes associated with combat‐related PTSD are still to be examined.…”

“…Specifically, the three trauma appraisals (pertaining to self‐blame, negative beliefs about the world, and self) were examined as mediators of the relationship between PTSS and anger expression‐in and expression‐out, and anger control variables. Based on findings that negative beliefs about the world and self are significantly associated with anger expression in a non‐military trauma sample (Whiting & Bryant, ), it was expected that negative beliefs about the world and self would also partially mediate the association between PTSS and anger expression and control variables in the veteran sample. However, self‐blame was not expected to be significantly associated with anger.…”

Anger and guilt in treatment for chronic posttraumatic stress disorder

“…Ehlers and Clark (2000) proposed that anger arises from excessively negative appraisals of the trauma which in turn leads to maladaptive behavioral strategies to control threat and symptoms, one such strategy being avoidance, another being rumination. Indeed, in a study of civilian trauma survivors with and without PTSD, results indicated that catastrophic appraisals about oneself and time since trauma were the only significant predictors of anger expression (Whiting & Bryant, 2007).…”

Influence of Multiple Traumatic Event Types on Mental Health Outcomes: Does Count Matter?

“…Experiencing a PTE may lead to perceived changes in the self, maladaptive coping strategies (Fetzner et al 2014;Lezak et al 2012;DePrince et al 2011), negative cognitive appraisals (Whiting and Bryant 2007), and physiological changes (Campbell et al 2007;Cicerone and Fraser 1999) including interruptions in neurological development (Heim et al 2008). Such vulnerabilities may contribute to a risk for experiencing later PTEs (Finkelhor et al 2009), and subsequently greater psychopathology (e.g., Heim et al 2008;Whiting and Bryant 2007). Further, PTEs occurring in one context (e.g., at home) may increase the likelihood of PTEs in different contexts (e.g., in school) which again can contribute to a detrimental cumulative impact when PTEs are experienced at a young age (e.g., Ehrensaft et al 2003).…”