Positive and negative outcomes of anger in early adolescents.

The purposes of this study were to examine symptom patterns and diminished general well-being as negative outcomes and vigor and change as positive outcomes of trait and state anger via two structural equation models. In a school auditorium, a convenience sample of 141 boys and girls, ages 12-14 years, responded to the Trait Anger Scale and the State Anger Scale and to instruments measuring general well-being, symptom patterns, vigor, and change. In the negative outcome model, results indicated that diminished general well-being and increased symptom patterns were outcomes of trait anger and state anger in early adolescents. In the positive outcome model, contrary to expectation, less vigor and less inclination to change were outcomes of trait anger in early adolescents, while state anger had no appreciable influence on the same variables. The findings suggest that anger, particularly trait anger, had a negative influence on the outcome variables studied.