CONSTRUCTIVE ANGER, SHAME AND EMPATHY: A LIFESPAN STUDY

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The key question addressed by our project is: For whom and under what conditions is anger likely to result in constructive as opposed to maladaptive behaviors and consequences? Five studies, drawing on diverse methods, further explore the degree to which empathy, shame, and guilt moderate the social consequences of anger from middle childhood through adulthood. Studies 1 and 2 are designed to clarify the determinants of constructive vs. destructive anger management strategies in close relationships. In-depth interviews with 94 adolescents and their parents (Study 1), and 175 young adult couples (Study 2) concerning specific real- life shared episodes of anger are nearly complete. Comprehensive qualitative and quantitative analyses are planned to clarify factors which foster constructive resolutions to familial and conjoint anger, as well as factors which lead to destructive outcomes of domestic conflict. A second focus of the family study is on how children develop adaptive as opposed to maladaptive means of handling anger. Studies 3 and 4 draw on an entirely different methodology to further examine the degree to which feelings of shame interfere with adaptive interpersonal behavior and constructive conflict resolution. Study 3 will assess the effects of experimentally induced shame on covert hostility (malicious gossip) in a sample of 260 college students. Study 4 will examine the effects of experimentally induced shame on the conflict resolution process in 100 pairs of college students. Conflict resolution strategies, as well as the actual outcomes of negotiations will be considered. Finally, in Study 5 (a longitudinal, intergenerational study), children initially studied in the 5th-grade and in the 7th/8th grade, will be interviewed following their 18th birthday. Drawing on self-reports, parent reports, and archival records, we will examine the degree to which family factors (e.g., parenting behaviors, family environment, parents' affective characteristics) and children's own moral affective characteristics (empathy, shame, guilt) in middle childhood predict constructive vs. destructive anger management strategies, as well as more general social and behavioral adjustment in late adolescence. In addition, we will assess the stability of anger management styles from early to late adolescence, in general, while also identifying factors which modify adolescents' responses to anger as they near adulthood.