Anger Assessment and Intervention in Rural Youth

描述（由申请人提供）：今天的青少年生活在暴力时代。即将到来的伊拉克战争，2001年9月11日的事件，以及国家的高度恐怖警报都是青少年应对的牺牲品。青少年死亡的三个主要原因：伤害、杀人和自杀，都有一个共同点，那就是愤怒。无人关注的愤怒往往导致暴力，这是我们国家青少年中普遍存在的问题。暴力升级，如在科伦拜恩、琼斯博罗和其他农村社区的悲剧中所看到的，使得在这一人群中制定应对战略至关重要。这个项目，教孩子们应对科普（TKC-A）是一个以学校为基础的行为干预，解决愤怒作为一个潜在的信号，可能会导致问题的行为在青年，特别是那些谁住在农村地区的人获得支持是有限的。六分之一的农村家庭生活在贫困中;高失业率，生物恐怖主义和其他经济压力给青少年带来压力，导致焦虑，抑郁，酒精和药物使用，犯罪，学业失败，与同龄人关系不佳以及自尊心丧失的风险增加。这并不奇怪;因此，居住在农村地区的青年容易出现愤怒管理困难，而缺乏获得其社区特有的心理健康服务的机会又加剧了这种困难。本研究的目的是提供一种干预措施，针对愤怒作为一个因素，有助于高风险行为的青年生活在农村地区。TKC-A由八个一小时的互动会议组成，由训练有素的组长领导。通过角色扮演、小组项目、讨论、头脑风暴和讲义来教授和练习应对技能。TKC-A的目标是在宾夕法尼亚州西南部农村高中就读的大一、大二和大三学生。具体目标是（1）描述愤怒体验，愤怒表达及其潜在相关因素（抑郁症状，应对策略，感知社会支持，药物使用，自尊，乐观，焦虑，生活事件，纪律处分和人口统计学特征）;（2）检查愤怒及其潜在相关因素之间的关系;（3）评估干预效果。通过为农村青年提供服务，干预措施减少了健康差距。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Today's adolescents are living in violent times. The impending war with Iraq, the events of September 11, 2001, and the nations high terror alert prey upon adolescents' coping. The three leading causes of death among adolescents: injuries, homicide, and suicide, all have one thing in common, anger. Unattended anger often leads to violence, a pervasive problem among our nation's teens. An escalation in violence such as that seen in the tragedies at Columbine, Jonesboro, and other rural communities has made instituting coping strategies among this population essential. This project, Teaching Kids to Cope with Anger (TKC-A) is a school based behavioral intervention that addresses anger as a potential signal that may lead to problem behaviors in youth, especially those who live in rural areas for whom access to support is limited. One in six rural families live in poverty; high unemployment, bioterrorism, and other economic pressures put stress on teens, leading to increased risk for anxiety, depression, alcohol and substance use, delinquency, school failure, poor relations with peers, and loss of self esteem. It is no surprise; therefore, that youth who reside in rural areas are susceptible to anger management difficulties, which are compounded by a lack of access to mental health services that are typical of their communities. The goal of this study is to provide an intervention targeting anger as a factor that contributes to high-risk behavior for youth living in rural areas. TKC-A consists of eight one-hour interactive sessions that are led by a trained group leader. Coping skills are taught and practiced through role-playing, group projects, discussions, brainstorming, and handouts. The TKC-A targets freshman, sophomore, and junior level students who attend rural high schools in Southwestern Pennsylvania. Specific aims are to (1) describe anger experience, anger expression and its potential correlates (depressive symptoms, coping strategies, perceived social support, drug use, self-esteem, optimism, anxiety, life events, disciplinary actions, and demographic characteristics; (2) examine the relationship between anger and its potential correlates; and (3) evaluate the effect of the intervention. The intervention reduces a health disparity by providing a service for rural youth.