Shame,guilt, and anger in college students exposed to abusive family environments

The relationship between an abusive environment within the family and proneness to shame, guilt, anger, and hostility in college students revealed that greater exposure to emotional abusiveness was significantly related to higher shame, overt and covert hostility, and expressed and unexpressed anger. Greater exposure to physical abusiveness was significantly related to overt hostility and a tendency to experience anger without a specific provoking situation. Women reported higher shame and guilt, whereas men reported higher levels of overt hostility and expressed anger. Shame proneness was related to covert hostility and unexpressed anger for both men and women. However, guilt proneness was not related to exposure to family abusiveness or, with one exception, to the anger and hostility variables. Implications for therapy with adult survivors of child abuse are discussed.     

Neuropsychological Correlates of Anger,Hostility, and Relationship-Relevant Distortions in Thinking among Partner Violent Men

Prior research has demonstrated that perpetrators of intimate partner violence (IPV) display poorer performance than controls on neuropsychological tests of executive functioning (EF) and impulsivity (Imp). In a treatment-seeking sample of 80 partner-violent men, the current study examined EF and Imp as correlates of anger-reactivity, cognitive distortions, irrational beliefs, anger expression, anger control, hostility, and abusive relationship behavior. Executive functioning had significant inverse associations with cognitive distortions, irrational beliefs, and anger-reactivity assessed during anger induction using the Articulated Thoughts within Simulated Situations (ATSS) paradigm, and with global self-reports of anger expression and general hostility. Impulsivity was positively associated with cognitive distortions, irrational beliefs, and anger-reactivity on the ATSS. No significant associations were found between neuropsychological functioning and anger control or self-reported levels of physical assault and psychological aggression. Limitations in neuropsychological functioning among IPV perpetrators are associated with distorted cognitive processing of negative relationship stimuli and difficulties with anger reactivity, anger expression, and general hostility.     

Testing a Theoretical Model of the Relationship Between Impulsivity,Mediating Variables,and Husband Violence

The present study involved a multimethod assessment of impulsivity among 86 men. Using two questionnaires and four performance-based measures of impulsivity, the factor structure of the impulsivity data was examined. Four constructs that theoretically mediate the relationship between impulsivity and husband violence (i.e., substance abuse, anger/hostility, marital dissatisfaction, and psychological abuse) were assessed to examine a mediational model predictive of husband violence. Substance abuse and marital dissatisfaction mediated the relationship between impulsivity and psychological abuse. Psychological abuse mediated the relationship between substance abuse and marital dissatisfaction and husband violence. Although anger/hostility was not a mediator, there were bivariate associations between anger/hostility and impulsivity, psychological abuse, and husband violence. The results of the regression analyses were virtually identical when controlling for the effect of intelligence on the model variables. The implications of the findings for the assessment of impulsivity and for future husband violence research are discussed.     

Self-reported personality traits in forensic populations: a meta-analysis

The current study covers a systematic review and meta-analysis of the prevalence of self-reported deviant or disruptive personality traits: anger, aggression, hostility, antisocial traits, psychopathy, and impulsivity in forensic populations worldwide. A computer-based search of titles was carried out using the PubMed electronic database for articles published in English that included a self-report instrument for personality characteristics in combination with a forensic population (i.e. detained in remand, sentenced and/or in enforced treatment, or on parole). The final sample consisted of 39 studies (N?=?11,716) that together used 17 different instruments and reported on 32 subscales or constructs that fitted our current interest. Results showed significantly higher levels of self-reported antisocial and psychopathic features in forensic samples, including a significant effect of the assessment instrument and subscale used. No significant differences were found for self-reported impulsivity, anger, aggression, or hostility in forensic populations compared to norm scores of non-forensic samples. Possible explanations, including suggestions that forensic populations are prone to providing socially desirable answers on self-report questionnaires, possibly to gain advantages such as a lower prison sentence or to avoid enforced treatment, are discussed, as well as limitations, and suggestions for future research and clinical practice.     

Sleep apnea as a possible factor contributing to aggression in sex offenders

Sleep disorders, such as obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), are often unrecognized and undertreated. A disruption in normal sleep may be associated with increased irritability and aggression. To elucidate further the impact of OSA on hostility of forensic patients, we performed a retrospective chart review of 10 consecutive outpatient sex offenders who were diagnosed with OSA and treated with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP). The Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire was compared pre- and posttreatment. Following treatment, the total Buss-Perry score was significantly lower, with lower scores on the anger, physical aggression, hostility, and verbal aggression subscales. These results suggest that in sex offenders suffering from OSA, aggression and hostility may be significantly reduced through CPAP treatment. Further investigation is required to investigate if reducing aggression and hostility in this manner impacts recidivism and overall functioning.     

Effects of Trait Anger and Negative Attitudes Towards Women on Physical Assault in Dating Relationships

The present study investigated the combined effect of trait anger and negative attitudes towards women (i.e., hostility towards women, calloused sexual beliefs) on frequency of physical aggression in premarital relationships. A total of 263 college-aged men who reported that they were either currently involved in a romantic relationship or had been involved in at least one romantic relationship during the past 12 months were recruited. Participants completed a battery of questionnaires, including the Conflict Tactics Scale-2, Trait Anger Scale, Hostility Towards Women Scale, and Hypermasculinity Inventory. Correlational analyses indicated that trait anger, hostility towards women, and calloused sexual beliefs were positively associated with frequency of physical assault. Further, hierarchical regression analyses indicated that both hostility towards women and calloused sexual beliefs moderated the relationship between trait anger and frequency of physical assault, such that in men who possess more negative attitudes towards women, higher levels of trait anger lead to increased physical assault. Results provide initial support for the role of trait anger in dating violence and suggest the existence of a subgroup among premaritally violent males who possess negative attitudes toward women and also possess a strong tendency to experience intense levels of anger.     

Property Crime Victims' Decision to Notify the Police: Social,Cognitive, and Affective Determinants

Previous research suggests that 3 general processes underlie the decision of property crime victims to notify the police: One that is cognitively driven by reward/cost considerations, one that is affectively driven, and another that is socially driven. This study is the first to employ a community sample of crime victims to compare the 3 processes within a single study. Computer-assisted interviews were conducted with 422 property crime victims (n = 129 burglary, n = 293 theft) located via a random digit dialing procedure. Logistic regression analyses showed that each process independently accounted for a significant amount of the variance in victim reporting, and that there were no interactions among the three processes in predicting reporting. Of the 3 processes, social influence was the best predictor of reporting. Analysis of the affect-driven process showed that reporting was primarily a function of the level of fear rather than anger or the level of generalized arousal upon discovering the crime.     

Factor structure and reliability of the childhood trauma questionnaire and prevalence estimates of trauma for male and female street youth

This study examines the psychometric properties of the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire short form (CTQ-SF) with street youth who have run away or been expelled from their homes (N = 397). Internal reliability coefficients for the five clinical scales ranged from .65 to .95. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was used to test the five-factor structure of the scales yielding acceptable fit for the total sample. Additional multigroup analyses were performed to consider items by gender. Results provided only evidence of weak factorial invariance. Constrained models showed invariance in configuration, factor loadings, and factor covariances but failed for equality of intercepts. Mean trauma scores for street youth tended to fall in the moderate to severe range on all abuse/neglect clinical scales. Females reported higher levels of abuse and neglect. Prevalence of child maltreatment of individual forms was very high with 98% of street youth reporting one or more forms; 27.4% of males and 48.9% of females reported all five forms. Results of this study support the viability of the CTQ-SF for screening maltreatment in a highly vulnerable street population. Caution is recommended when comparing prevalence estimates for male and female street youth given the failure of the strong factorial multigroup model.     

General and maladaptive traits and anger in a combined forensic psychiatric and general population sample

The present study examines the associations between anger and general and maladaptive traits in a combined forensic psychiatric and community sample of men. Thirty-four male forensic psychiatric patients and 219 men from the general population completed the Novaco Anger Scale (NAS; Novaco, 1994), the NEO-PI-R (Costa & McCrae, 1992), the ADP-IV (Schotte & De Doncker, 1994) and the VKP (Duijsens, Haringsma, & EurelingsBontekoe, 1999) at two measurement occasions with a one-year interval. The results of a series of multiple regression analyses showed that general and maladaptive traits accounted for a substantial amount of variance in anger scores. Neuroticism, Agreeableness and Externalizing traits were most prominent in the prediction of anger, while Conscientiousness was acting as a suppressor variable in the regression models. Strengths and limitations of the present study and implications for further research and clinical practice are discussed.     

Taking Action to Stop Violence: A Study on Readiness to Change Among Male Batterers

The Transtheoretical Model of Change (TTM) predicts that matching interventions with a person’s readiness to change should improve treatment outcomes. This cross-sectional correlational study examined characteristics that affected self-reported readiness to change abusive behavior among a sample of 109 men in a 52-week batterer treatment program. Participants completed measures of anger/hostility, readiness to change, manipulative parenting, and self-esteem. Results indicated that contemplation of the impact of abuse has the highest unique relationship with self-reported taking action to stop violence. Moreover, physical aggression and manipulative parenting account for significant variance in the scores associated with self-reported taking action to stop violence as well. These findings suggest that interventions aimed at moving clients into contemplation, and reducing physical aggression and manipulative parenting styles, may increase the likelihood that batterers will take action to stop violence.     

A cross-sectional study on expression of anger and factors associated with criminal recidivism in prisoners with prior offences

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to determine demographical characteristics leading to crime recidivism and define anger levels and anger expression manners for those who re-commit crime. METHOD: All the literate inmates in Izmit Closed Penitentiary were included in this cross-sectional study. The prisoners were asked to respond to State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory. Their socio-demographic data were collected and a questionnaire was given to them to determine their state of imprisonment, sentence, nature of the crime in which they were involved, their criminal history, their relationship with inmates and prison staff and substance and alcohol use. RESULTS: Of the 438 prisoners, 302 (68.9%) responded to the questionnaires. Crime recidivism among the study cohort was observed to be 37.4%. Mean trait anger, anger out and anger in scores were significantly higher in prisoners with criminal recidivism in comparison with those who did not have prior criminal records. However, mean anger control scores for prisoners with or without criminal recidivism were similar. Unemployment, education level completed at secondary school or below, having committed a crime under the influence of alcohol or narcotics, having been involved in prison fights, having resisted police officers, caused damage in their vicinity when angry and violent crimes were all found to be possible causes of criminal recidivism. Educational level completed at secondary school or below, getting into fights with other prisoners, unemployment and resisting police officers were determined to be the strongest indicators to predict criminal recidivism when all variables were considered according to a logistic regression model. CONCLUSION: It can be proposed that those who have problems with officials or hostile towards others constitute a risk group for criminal recidivism. If prisoners with criminal recidivism can be helped to identify and control their anger, their risk of committing a new crime can be minimised.     

Psychological treatment of men convicted of gender violence: a pilot study in Spanish prisons

In this article, the effectiveness of a psychological treatment program for men who are in prison for committing a serious offence of gender violence is tested. The sample consisted of 52 men who were imprisoned in eight Spanish prisons. The psychological treatment was a cognitive-behavioral program, in a group format, with 20 weekly sessions that lasted for 8 months. The results showed a significant improvement of irrational beliefs, about both women and violence, as a strategy to cope with everyday difficulties and a significant decrease of psychopathological symptomatology, anger, and hostility. On the other hand, results indicated that the only difference between the patients who dropped out of treatment and those who completed it was the level of initial motivation for treatment. Implications of this study for clinical practice and future research in this field are discussed.     

A cross-sectional study on expression of anger and factors associated with criminal recidivism in prisoners with prior offences

Objective: The purpose of this study is to determine demographical characteristics leading to crime recidivism and define anger levels and anger expression manners for those who re-commit crime.Method: All the literate inmates in zmit Closed Penitentiary were included in this cross-sectional study. The prisoners were asked to respond to State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory. Their socio-demographic data were collected and a questionnaire was given to them to determine their state of imprisonment, sentence, nature of the crime in which they were involved, their criminal history, their relationship with inmates and prison staff and substance and alcohol use.Results: Of the 438 prisoners, 302 (68.9%) responded to the questionnaires. Crime recidivism among the study cohort was observed to be 37.4%.Mean trait anger, anger out and anger in scores were significantly higher in prisoners with criminal recidivism in comparison with those who did not have prior criminal records. However, mean anger control scores for prisoners with or without criminal recidivism were similar. Unemployment, education level completed at secondary school or below, having committed a crime under the influence of alcohol or narcotics, having been involved in prison fights, having resisted police officers, caused damage in their vicinity when angry and violent crimes were all found to be possible causes of criminal recidivism. Educational level completed at secondary school or below, getting into fights with other prisoners, unemployment and resisting police officers were determined to be the strongest indicators to predict criminal recidivism when all variables were considered according to a logistic regression model.Conclusion: It can be proposed that those who have problems with officials or hostile towards others constitute a risk group for criminal recidivism. If prisoners with criminal recidivism can be helped to identify and control their anger, their risk of committing a new crime can be minimised.     

被打伤者心理卫生状况的初步研究

目的　初步探索被打伤者的心理特点 ,并提出相应的干预措施。方法　对 1998年 5月至 6月期间到北京市高级人民法院法医门诊鉴定的被打伤者进行一般情况调查和SCL - 90量表的评定 ,将被打伤者的评定结果与正常人进行比较 ,然后分组比较。结果　被打伤者SCL - 90各因子分均显著高于正常人 ;除敌对因子分外 ,损伤程度不同的被打伤者之间SCL - 90各因子分无显著差别 ;伤后时间短的被打伤者抑郁、焦虑因子分高 ,伤后时间长的被打伤者敌对、偏执因子分高。结论　被打伤者心理不健康 ,伤后时间不同的被打伤者心理特点不同 ,应针对此情况制定不同的干预措施。     

Understanding differences in crime reporting practices: a comparative approach

Despite a large body of literature detailing crime reporting practices, scant research examines the correlates of the crime reporting decision in developing nations with newer democracies, newer economies, or developing economies. Using a sample of 23 nations from the 2000 International Crime Victimization Survey (ICVS), this study tests the generalizability of correlates of robbery and assault reports to the police in a non-US sample to determine whether there are national differences in reporting practices. Based on this analysis emphasizing the developing world and countries in transition, an expanded model, integrating incident, demographic, police-related, and national variables, is developed that will enhance our understanding of differences in reporting practices in developing and developed nations. Results identified both similarities and differences in crime reporting practices between developed and developing nations. Although the findings reinforce the importance of incident and demographic characteristics on reporting crime to the police, they also suggest that national variables, reflecting economic and social context, should not be excluded from studies examining reporting practices.     

Nurse home visitors' perceptions of mandatory reporting of intimate partner violence to law enforcement agencies

In the United States, there is an ongoing debate about requiring health care professionals to report intimate partner violence (IPV) to law enforcement agencies. A comprehensive examination of the perspectives of those required to report abuse is critical, as their roles as mandated reporters often pose legal, practical, moral, and ethical questions. Even so, the perspective of health care professionals who are required to report is often overlooked and research is scarce on mandated reporters who work outside of clinical settings, such as nurses who engage in home visitation with clients. The purpose of this study was to examine nurse home visitors' perspectives regarding the mandatory reporting of IPV, specifically focusing on their attitudes toward reporting, perceived awareness of reporting requirements, and intended reporting behaviors. A web-based survey was administered to nurses in the Nurse-Family Partnership home visitation program across the United States. A total of 532 completed surveys were returned (response rate = 49%). In terms of support for reporting IPV, 40% of nurses indicated that they should "always" be required to report. Almost half of the sample indicated that they would report a case of IPV, yet less than one-third of participants were aware of a legal mandate. Attitudes and support toward reporting as well as the perception of a reporting requirement significantly predicted intention to report. Furthermore, 29% of participants did not know if they were required to report IPV perpetrated against their clients. Comprehensive information about mandatory reporting duties is needed for health care professionals in home visitation settings. The findings of the current study highlight the need to reduce variation among practitioners and establish consistent program practices that are grounded in the program's principals, supported by existing research, and compliant with existing state policies.     

Assessing Jail Inmates' Proneness to Shame and Guilt: Feeling Bad About the Behavior or the Self?

This study of 550 jail inmates (379 male and 171 female) held on felony charges examines the reliability and validity of the Test of Self Conscious Affect -Socially Deviant Version (TOSCA-SD; Hanson & Tangney, 1996) as a measure of offenders' proneness to shame and proneness to guilt. Discriminant validity (e.g., vis-à-vis self-esteem, negative affect, social desirability/impression management) and convergent validity (e.g., vis-à-vis correlations with empathy, externalization of blame, anger, psychological symptoms, and substance use problems) was supported, paralleling results from community samples. Further, proneness to shame and guilt were differentially related to widely used risk measures from the field of criminal justice (e.g., criminal history, psychopathy, violence risk, antisocial personality). Guilt-proneness appears to be a protective factor, whereas there was no evidence that shame-proneness serves an inhibitory function. Subsequent analyses indicate these findings generalize quite well across gender and race. Implications for intervention and sentencing practices are discussed.