A Review Of Anger Management Activities

Описание: A meta-analytic review of anger management activities that increase or decrease arousal: What fuels or douses rage?

PMID: 38518585
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38518...

"Anger is an emotional response to a real or imagined threat or provocation." Emotions are characterized by two dimensions: valence (positive vs negative) and arousal (low vs. high). Arousal, in the psychological sense, can be thought of as attention and alertness. Anger is a negative valence high arousal emotion that motivates approach tendencies, action, and readiness rather than avoidance and withdrawal. Anger can have numerous negative consequences; thus, proper anger management strategies are essential for a healthy life. This study's authors examined data on decreasing arousal (meditation, mindfulness, etc.) vs. increasing activities (exercise) to reduce anger.

Overall, they found that arousal-decreasing activities significantly reduced anger and aggression, while arousal-increasing activities overall did not significantly impact anger and aggression (some types did; more on that below). Relaxation-based therapies were found to reduce anger effectively. Relaxation therapies can support the development of self-awareness, improve response to stressful situations, and help individuals better cope with anger-inducing situations. The arousal-decreasing activities were more impactful when combined with cognitive components (meditation, yoga, breathing exercises, & mindfulness). Mindfulness has been theorized to improve emotional tolerance, reduce the need to express anger, and enhance control over anger. These effects were stable across different populations, times, and situations.

One interesting thing they found while reviewing the research is that jogging increased anger. Many people use hitting the pavement to deal with their anger, but according to this meta-analysis, that time would be better spent engaging in an activity that decreases arousal. Ball sports and physical education classes did decrease anger.

In subgroup analysis, males, college students, and participants from individualistic cultures (like the US) were angrier after arousal-increasing activities. More sessions of arousal-decreasing activities were more effective when more sessions were involved vs. fewer sessions. Individual arousal-increasing activities increased anger more than group activities.

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