Anger Experience and Expression among Adolescents: A Test of the STAXI-2 C/A

摘要

Adolescents regulate their anger expression more than other negative emotions. Unlike childhood aggression and externalizing behavior problems, the children and adolescents' experience and expression of anger has received relatively little empirical attention. The State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory-2 Child and Adolescent (STAXI-2 C/A; Brunner & Spielberger, 2009) was developed to measure how a child or adolescent experiences, expresses and controls anger. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to explore about the relationship between state anger and trait anger, and to investigate the gender difference in internalized anger. Methods: 100 secondary school students in Malaysia (45 males, 55 females) were recruited through convenience sampling for a cross-sectional survey by using the STAXI-2 C/A (a = .85). Data analysis were conducted by using Cronbach's alpha reliability test, Pearson correlation, and independent sample t-test. Results: The findings revealed that: (1) there was a significant positive relationship between state anger and trait anger; (2) there was a significant difference between male and female students in the Anger Expression-In (AX-I) score. Conclusion: Students with high personality trait anger showed relatively high state anger. Internalized anger was significantly higher among males than females, indicating that males were more likely to suppress their feelings. Recommendations for future research to draw attention to adolescents' anger experience and expression, as well as to implement effective school-based anger management programs were suggested for the sake of adolescents' well-being.