TY - JOUR
T1 - Anger-reduction treatment reduces negative affect reactivity to daily stressors
AU - McIntyre, Kathleen M.
AU - Mogle, Jacqueline A.
AU - Scodes, Jennifer M.
AU - Pavlicova, Martina
AU - Shapiro, Peter A.
AU - Gorenstein, Ethan E.
AU - Tager, Felice A.
AU - Monk, Catherine
AU - Almeida, David M.
AU - Sloan, Richard P.
N1 - Funding Information:
This study was supported by Grant R01 HL63872 from the United States Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (to Richard P. Sloan), Grant K02 MH01491 from the NIH, National Institute of Mental Health (to Richard P. Sloan), and by the Nathaniel Wharton Fund.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 American Psychological Association.
PY - 2019/2
Y1 - 2019/2
N2 - Objective: Negative affect (NA) reactivity to daily stressors may confer health risks over and above stress exposure, especially in chronically angry adults. This randomized controlled trial tests the hypothesis that a 12-week cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) anger-reduction treatment would decrease NA reactivity to daily stressors assessed via ambulatory diary for those in treatment, but not on a wait-list for treatment. Method: Healthy adults (N = 158, aged 20-45 years, 53.20% women) scoring high on Spielberger's (1988) Trait Anger, a scale from the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory, were randomly assigned to a CBT treatment or wait-list control group, and completed 24 hr of prerandomization and postintervention ecological momentary assessment (EMA) of NA intensity and stress events every 20 ± 5 min. A longitudinal model using a generalized estimating equation examined whether stressor exposure and NA reactions to momentary stressors changed from pre- to posttreatment in the CBT group. Results: There was a significant 3-way interaction (t28 = 2.29, p = .03) between stressor, treatment group, and EMA day, indicating that NA reactivity decreased for the treatment group 1.60 points more than for the wait-list group (a 379.38% greater change in NA reactivity). NA during stressors was 1.18 points lower (a 28.42% decrease) for the treatment group at EMA Day 2 (p=.04), whereas wait-list NA during stressors nonsignificantly increased. Conclusion: CBT to decrease chronic anger is associated with lower NA reactivity to daily stressors in this sample and could be a promising treatment to mitigate the health impact of stress in this clinical population.
AB - Objective: Negative affect (NA) reactivity to daily stressors may confer health risks over and above stress exposure, especially in chronically angry adults. This randomized controlled trial tests the hypothesis that a 12-week cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) anger-reduction treatment would decrease NA reactivity to daily stressors assessed via ambulatory diary for those in treatment, but not on a wait-list for treatment. Method: Healthy adults (N = 158, aged 20-45 years, 53.20% women) scoring high on Spielberger's (1988) Trait Anger, a scale from the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory, were randomly assigned to a CBT treatment or wait-list control group, and completed 24 hr of prerandomization and postintervention ecological momentary assessment (EMA) of NA intensity and stress events every 20 ± 5 min. A longitudinal model using a generalized estimating equation examined whether stressor exposure and NA reactions to momentary stressors changed from pre- to posttreatment in the CBT group. Results: There was a significant 3-way interaction (t28 = 2.29, p = .03) between stressor, treatment group, and EMA day, indicating that NA reactivity decreased for the treatment group 1.60 points more than for the wait-list group (a 379.38% greater change in NA reactivity). NA during stressors was 1.18 points lower (a 28.42% decrease) for the treatment group at EMA Day 2 (p=.04), whereas wait-list NA during stressors nonsignificantly increased. Conclusion: CBT to decrease chronic anger is associated with lower NA reactivity to daily stressors in this sample and could be a promising treatment to mitigate the health impact of stress in this clinical population.
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U2 - 10.1037/ccp0000359
DO - 10.1037/ccp0000359
M3 - Article
C2 - 30507214
AN - SCOPUS:85057569843
VL - 87
SP - 141
EP - 150
JO - Journal of Consulting Psychology
JF - Journal of Consulting Psychology
SN - 0022-006X
IS - 2
ER -