Angry affect, aggression and personality disorder

Abstract

Why should anger be a focus of attention in clinical and forensic psychology and psychiatry and in considering the interpersonal problems of people with personality disorder? Anger is, after all, a normal experience and a common one for the vast majority of people, as revealed by studies in which community residents are asked to keep diaries of their anger experiences. Within psychology, anger has virtually always been identified by theorists and researchers as one of the 'core' emotions, which is universally experienced and recognized. Anger has become a major focus in forensic clinical settings for two reasons. Firstly, anger and anger regulation have been observed to be common problems in offender populations; indeed anger and hostility are a recognized risk factor for the development of offending behaviour. Secondly, anger has been proposed to be functionally related to important behaviours, notably, violence, sex offending, arson, self-harm in prisoners and disruptiveness in prison. In this chapter, I will expand on the thesis that anger is important for aggressive behaviours, with a particular focus on aggression in the form of violent offending and sexual offending. The role of anger in relation to personality disorder has received relatively little attention in the research literature, though anger appears to be a major focus in clinical and lay observations and amongst users of services for people with personality disorders. In this chapter, I will review what is known about links between anger and personality disorder. Finally, I will discuss issues arising in attempts to treat dysfunctional anger in people with personality disorders who are at risk of aggression and violence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)