![]() In attempting to explain how an enduring angry affect may arise and produce internal bodily changes many studies have focused upon the influence of ‘extreme’ anger expression styles. ![]() Indeed, in a recent review of the literature it was concluded that supporting evidence for a link between high anger levels and pain continues to build (Greenwood et al. 1996) or who are observed exhibiting angry feelings (Kerns et al. This is borne out in studies of adults with chronic illnesses or persistent pain who either report feeling angry (Zimmerman et al. Although depression and anxiety are widely studied as emotional components of pain, anger has been identified as one of its most ‘salient’ properties (Fernandez and Turk 1995). The idea that emotions have the potential to adversely impact upon the mind and body dates back to the Greco-Roman era when prominent physicians and philosophers e.g., Aristotle, linked illness with emotion (Taylor 1997). The absence of a clearly detectable organic cause has prompted researchers to investigate the role of psychological factors, notably those in the emotional domain (Jellesma et al. Indeed in a large number of cases, sometimes up to 90%, an organic reason cannot adequately account for the frequent and persistent occurrence of somatic symptoms (Compas and Harding Thomsen 1999 Croffie et al. However, seeking medical help does not always provide a solution. These symptoms often occur in combination resulting in considerable pain for the individual (Perquin et al. Epidemiological studies show that between 5 and 30% of eight to sixteen year-olds are afflicted by weekly headaches, recurrent abdominal pain (RAP) or musculoskeletal pain (Egger et al. The experience of physical complaints such as headaches, abdominal, limb and back pain is not unusual for children and adolescents. In addition, tentative support is given for a broader range of strategies to cope with anger than just the traditionally studied anger-out and anger-in styles. ![]() A tendency to repeatedly think or talk about an angering event as a way of coping seems to underlie the observed negative health effects. A hierarchical regression analysis showed that for both the UK and Dutch samples two coping styles, Social support-seeking and Rumination, made a significant contribution to somatic complaints, over and above the variance explained by anger mood. To explore these relationships British ( n = 393) and Dutch ( n = 299) children completed a modified version of the Behavioral Anger Response Questionnaire (BARQ), and two additional questionnaires assessing anger mood and somatic complaints. Attempts to explain the experience of somatic complaints among children and adolescents suggest that they may in part result from the influence of particular strategies for coping with anger on the longevity of negative emotions.
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