Our most important finding is that, overall, childhood trauma is associated with all aspects of anger, including feelings and expression, including dose-response relationships. This means that the more traumatic the childhood, the angrier the adult,” said lead author Nienke de Bles, a doctoral student at Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands.
The relationship between childhood traumatic experiences and anger makes sense and fits with what is known from previous research, said Stephanie Hargrove, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist at Duke Health in Durham, N.C., who was not involved in the study.
“When someone experiences trauma in childhood, it’s usually when they’re disempowered or they’re not allowed to express what they’re feeling or what they need. These people may be in painful or very wrong situations, and it’s appropriate to feel anger about the situation,” Dr. Hargrove said.
But anger shouldn’t be seen as a bad thing, she said. “It is purposeful and can be used in effective ways. When anger is suppressed or eliminated, we see it eventually turn into aggression or aggression against others; it’s important that people are able to deal with anger in a healthy way.”
More trauma linked to anger in adulthood
The investigators used data from the Dutch Depression and Anxiety Study, which began in 2004 to investigate the course of depression and anxiety disorders over several years. The current study included nearly 2,300 participants between the ages of 18 and 65, with an average of 42 people, 66 percent of whom were women.
Previously, researchers found that more than 40 percent of patients with both anxiety and depression had a tendency toward anger, compared with about 5 percent of controls without depression or anxiety disorders.
After a four-hour baseline assessment, the researchers conducted four follow-up visits over an eight-year period to detect any history of childhood trauma, such as the loss of a parent, parental divorce or being in foster care. They also asked participants about neglect and emotional, physical and sexual abuse.
The group of authors said all types of childhood trauma, except sexual abuse, were associated with higher levels of anger, higher levels of anger aggression and antisocial personality traits in adulthood, unrelated to depression and anxiety.
“We found that anxious or depressed people with a history of emotional neglect or physical or psychological abuse were 1.3 to 2 times more likely to have anger problems than others. We also found that the more painful the childhood experience, the greater the propensity for adult anger,” de Bles said in a news release. She added that while the findings do not prove that trauma causes anger, the link between the two is clear.
De Bles said the findings suggest that children who have suffered emotional neglect are more likely to grow up to be angry or irritable, while those who have been physically abused are more likely to develop angry aggression or antisocial personality traits. “Sexual abuse tends to lead to anger suppression, which may be due to greater sensitivity to rejection – but that needs to be confirmed,” she said.
Is it OK to be angry? Often, it depends on the person expressing it
“Of all the emotions, anger can carry some stigma and connotations. In the United States, there are different levels of acceptance about who can express anger and under what circumstances,” Hargrove says.
For example, if a man expresses anger at a competitor who adopts his business ideas, or a politician is angry about what they see as mistakes in the political system, the public will usually be supportive or at least accepting, she said.
But not all groups of people think it’s acceptable to show anger, she said.
“For example, there is an insidious ‘angry black woman’ stereotype that portrays black women as generally angry and unreasonable. As a result, when black women express appropriate anger at injustice or wrongdoing, they tend to be judged more harshly or are more likely to be fired for having these justified feelings than white women,” Hargrove said.
In general, she said, women are often socialized to believe that anger is inappropriate or unladylike. “As a result, women may not be able to freely express their emotions, especially anger,” Hargrove said.
Yes, there’s such a thing as “healthy anger.
Hargrove says that in some cases, anger is definitely healthy and appropriate. “Anger is no different than other emotions like sadness, fear and happiness because it’s not ‘bad’ or ‘good’.” All emotions are useful and have different functions,” she said.
Anger can be caused by injustice, disempowerment, hurt or pain – and when it happens, it’s an important sign to pay attention to, she said. “Anger can come up on its own, but it’s usually a secondary emotion, not a primary emotion,” Hargrove said.
This means there may be an emotion that is more important to someone’s actual experience that can mask anger, she explained. “For example, someone who has lost a job may feel very sad about the loss, but it may also manifest as anger toward a former co-worker who is still working.”
Anger can be associated with disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and anxiety, she said. “You may not know exactly where it’s coming from, which is why it’s helpful to go see a therapist. A professional can help you understand the anger response and the underlying causes behind it, and recommend appropriate treatment,” Hargrove said.
Repressing anger is harmful
“Suppressing anger has a cost – it’s not a helpful strategy in the long run,” Hargrove says. While it may help people avoid conflict in the short term, unexpressed emotions can pile up, she said.
In some cases, Hargrove said, the person may end up “exploding” with anger that is out of proportion to the reality of the situation. “That’s not what we want,” she added.
For others, repressed anger “can corrupt you from the inside out,” she says. “These people can be self-hating, very self-critical, or suffer from depression or other illnesses as a result of inward anger,” she says.
Processing and reflecting on anger can lead to positive change
When anger starts to emerge, Hargrove suggests checking in with yourself rather than pushing it aside. One way to practice this, she says, is through journaling.
“Write down how you feel and why. Give yourself time to process without judging the emotion or getting angry at yourself for getting angry in the first place. Remember that sometimes anger is justified. It can allow you to make changes or address issues that need to be addressed,” she says.
For example, if an issue at work angers you, write down your thoughts and make a plan to meet with higher management once you’ve had a chance to reflect, Hargrove says. “Use your anger to advocate for yourself or others.”
Healing Anger
“If people with a history of trauma begin to realize that they have a lot of anger, working with a professional to address the trauma would be a good place to start. The anger may be related to those experiences and dissipate when they get the proper treatment,” she says.
Hargrove said there are evidence-based treatments that can help people who feel anger due to childhood trauma. “Cognitive processing therapy and prolonged exposure therapy have been shown to be effective in reducing symptoms in people with PTSD,” she said.
