The associations of morningness–eveningness with anger and impulsivity in the general population

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationships among morningness-eveningness, impulsivity and anger in the general population. A total of 1000 community-dwelling subjects (500 males) aged 20-77 years (mean± SD age: 39.6 ± 11.6 years) completed the morningness-eveningness questionnaire (MEQ), Barratt impulsiveness scale (BIS), Spielberger State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory (STAXI) and Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. Moderation and mediation analyses were performed to determine whether the relationship between two variables depended on the third variable, referred to as a moderator, and whether the third variable, known as a mediator, was associated with the other two variables establishing causation. The MEQ scores exhibited significant negative associations with BIS (p < 0.001) and STAXI (p < 0.001) scores, and high scores on the BIS were associated with high scores on the STAXI (p < 0.001). Impulsivity, as measured by the BIS, played a role as a moderator (p < 0.001) in the relationship between MEQ and STAXI, and anger, as measured by the STAXI, acted as moderator (p = 0.030) in the association between MEQ and BIS. However, after controlling for the interaction of the BIS and MEQ, the MEQ scores did not significantly predict STAXI scores (p = 0.070). Additionally, the effect size of the mediating effect of the BIS scores on the relationship between the MEQ and STAXI (percent mediation: 53.2%) was larger than that of the STAXI scores on the association between the MEQ and BIS (percent mediation: 31.8%). The present results demonstrate that morningness-eveningness was closely related with both impulsivity and anger in the general population. Furthermore, these findings suggest that impulsivity may exercise a great influence on the association between morningness-eveningness and anger in two ways: as a moderator by modulating this relationship based on the level of impulsivity and as a mediator by acting as an intermediary factor.

Biological Clocks and Rhythms of Anger and Aggression

“…For example, reactive aggression in humans is argued to differ from proactive aggression, in that the former represents a response to a potential threat and is associated with high arousal and impulsivity, whereas the latter is a low arousal, calculated behavior intended to obtain instrumental ends such as a reward (Hubbard et al, 2002 ; Kempes et al, 2005 ). As discussed below, some evidence suggests that humans exhibit predictable cycles in displaying reactive aggression (e.g., Leggett et al, 2015 ; Hwang et al, 2016 ), but not proactive aggression. Distinguishing among types of aggressive behaviors is also important for identifying the environmental and physiological mechanisms that underlie each, and for determining how these mechanisms are linked to the internal timekeeping system.…”

“…In humans, some evidence suggests that an individual’s chronotype (i.e., if one is a morning person or an evening person) is associated with expressions of anger and hostility. Specifically, young to middle-aged adults identifying as evening types tend to score higher on self-report scales of impulsivity, state and trait expressions of anger, and irritability (Park et al, 2015 ; Hwang et al, 2016 ; however, see Chrobak et al, 2017 ), and children and adolescents who are evening types are more likely to be rated by parents or teachers as displaying rule-breaking and externalizing behaviors such as conflict with others, lying, screaming, or swearing compared with individuals who identify as being morning types (reviewed in Schlarb et al, 2014 ). Interesting experiments also suggest that chronotype may interact with time of day to influence the likelihood of displaying socially transgressive behavior such as cheating: for example, young adults are more likely to lie about their success on monetarily rewarded tasks, like self-reported puzzle solving or dice throwing scores, if they are tested at a time of day that does not coincide with their chronotype (i.e., if morning-type people are tested in the late evening; Gunia et al, 2014 ; Kouchaki and Smith, 2014 ; Ingram et al, 2016 ).…”

Anger-Related Characteristics According to Chronotypes in Bipolar or Depressive Disorders

“…8 Another study examined the association between morningness-eveningness and impulsivity as well as with anger in a general population consisted of community-dwelling subjects. 9 In this study, morningness was negatively associated with the impulsivity and anger, respectively. Additionally, the impulsivity played a role as a moderator on the association between chronotype and anger.…”

Are Owls and Larks Different When it Comes to Aggression? Genetics, Neurobiology, and Behavior

“…Aspects of reactive aggression has been associated with a late chronotype. Hostility, anger, and impulsivity were increased in those with an evening chronotype (Randler and Vollmer, 2013;Hwang et al, 2016). Interestingly, social jetlag was positively correlated with physical aggression (Randler and Vollmer, 2013).…”