Using the scientifically validated youth anger tool that Dr. Brunner is senior author of (State Trait Anger Expression Inventory, Second Edition, Child/Adolescent Version [STAXI-2 C/A; Brunner & Spielberger, 2009]) an international team of researchers has examined the relationships between anger and depression and how to two interact when school students are rejected by their peers. The results have been published in the peer-reviewed Journal Child Psychiatry & Human Development.
The formal title of the article available through SpringerLink is: “Does Comorbid Anger Exacerbate the Rejection of Children with Depression by their School Peers?”
- Yuri Arsenio Sanz Martinez (1)
- Barry H. Schneider
(2) - Aaron Zambrana (2)
- Grethel Selva Batista (1)
- Zayda Sanchez Soca (3)
Author Affiliations
- 1. University of Holguín, Holguín, Cuba
- 2. University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada
- 3. Military Hospital, Holguín, Cuba
Article Abstract: Depression in childhood and adolescence is often accompanied with social rejection by peers, which accentuates the course of that emotion. Despite the documented association between anger and depression, little is known about the impact of the interaction of both emotions on peer relations. The main objective of this study is to explore the interpersonal implications of depression with comorbid anger in a pediatric sample. The sample consisted of 466 participants; the mean age was 11.45 (SD = 1.55). There were 231 females (49.6 %) and 235 males (50.4 %). ANOVAs revealed significant differences between boys and girls in depression, aggression, anger experience/explosive anger and internalized responses to anger. There were no significant differences between the correlations computed with the data from boys and girls for the hypothesized associations among anger, aggression, depression, and peer acceptance/rejection. Both Anger-Out and Depression were significantly associated with perceived unpopularity. Additionally, the interaction of Anger-Out and Depression added significantly to the prediction of perceived unpopularity.
The STAXI-2 C/A continues to be used in studies around the world, as it has now been adapted into 9 languages. Most recently, a German publisher is now producing a Deutsch version.