Anger and Aggression: A Developmental Perspective

This chapter reviews developmental research linking emotional functioning and anger regulation with the development and maintenance of aggressive behavior problems in childhood and associated social-emotional maladjustment. Skin conductance reactivity was linked with nonverbal displays of anger and with reactive aggression, and as arousal increased during the course of the game, so did displays of nonverbal anger and aggressive reactions. In addition to coaching in the social-cognitive skills associated with self regulation, anger management, and social information processing, the Anger Coping program includes role play exercises in which children practice maintaining their composure when exposed to provocative statements from others. The Anger Coping intervention and others like it have incorporated guided role-play practice in coping with peer provocations as a strategy to help children reduce reactive anger and apply positive coping strategies when aroused. Additional strategies designed to help rewrite habitual reactive arousal and improve emotion regulation under conditions of duress deserve exploration and evaluation.