Introduction
Nowadays, the issues connected to mental health become more acute, and individuals become more conscious about their well-being and triggers that lower their quality of life. For example, anger is a typical emotion that all people can experience. However, in moderate forms, it can be helpful when there is a threat, but if it happens frequently or is strong, it becomes a cause for concern (de Bles et al., 2019).
Excessive amounts of rage may be linked to maladaptive actions that hurt one’s quality of life and well-being (de Bles et al., 2019). Furthermore, rage episodes were common and linked to several anxiety and depression-related disorders (de Bles et al., 2019). Consequently, there is a drastic need for better stress management, focusing on thoughts and feelings (Worthen & Cash, 2023). Without addressing the issue and spreading awareness, more people will be affected while feeling helpless.
At the same time, anger affects males and females differently, leading to various results. For example, such emotion is commonly perceived as the quintessential masculine emotion, and it has been indicated that people anticipate men to feel angry more frequently and intensely (Van Doren & Soto, 2021). Unsurprisingly, women typically face higher social consequences for expressing anger in light of these norms and prejudices (Van Doren & Soto, 2021).
Men have additionally been stated to benefit from anger manifestations in terms of social standing and perceptions of expertise, whereas women do not (Van Doren & Soto, 2021). However, women may be more affected than men by the negative effects of expressing rage externally. Thus, while anger is a typical emotion expressed by all people, it actually affects the female population the most, leading to depression and necessitating proper stress management.
Article Description
The work that was chosen for analysis is the 2021 study by Van Doren and Soto, published in the International Journal of Psychology. The study under consideration can be classified as a secondary analysis, specifically a longitudinal study using existing data. Researchers studied the issue since they saw a gap in the literature and how gender perceptions coupled with gender-specific anger expressions can affect female well-being and lead to depression-connected disorders. They sought to determine whether the outward display of anger, or “angry-out,” would be a long-term predictor of depressive symptoms in a nationally representative group of adults who live in communities (Van Doren & Soto, 2021).
This was because women are expected to express their anger differently than men, and there are various norms and standards regarding when and how women ought to demonstrate their anger, as was mentioned earlier. Additionally, the authors wanted to investigate the theory that sex reduces the connection between expressing anger and depression symptoms, making it so that women have a stronger correlation than males do (Van Doren & Soto, 2021). Therefore, the researchers wanted to delve deeper into the gender differences in the context of anger expression and the impact of this emotion.
The authors hypothesized that the cause could be a primary impact of sex, meaning that females have a greater number of depressive symptoms than males and a major influence of anger-out on depressive disorders (Van Doren & Soto, 2021). In other words, anger out would be connected to larger depressive symptoms in men and women. Moreover, they hypothesized that there would be a gender difference in the connection between anger-out and depression manifestations due to a connection between sex and anger-out.
When moving further in the paper, the readers can see the discussion of the sample and research methods. According to the study, 942 persons who live in the community and are nationally representative sampled undertook diagnostic interviews to measure manifestations of depression at baseline and nine years later, in addition to answering questions about how often they show anger (Van Doren & Soto, 2021).
The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), which has been demonstrated to be a valid tool for evaluating the quantity, kinds, and extent of depressed symptoms across all races, genders, and age groups, was utilized for assessing depressive symptoms (Van Doren & Soto, 2021). Consequently, the use of bootstrapping in moderation studies demonstrated a substantial primary impact of anger-out on depression.
Finally, the authors offer useful findings about anger and suggest future research. Gender, as expected, attenuated the influence of anger-out on depressive disorders, meaning that, even after adjusting for baseline depression, higher levels of anger-out at the start indicated higher levels of depression in women nine years later (Van Doren & Soto, 2021). However, while delivering the findings about emotions and their impact on women, the researchers claim that a few limitations should be mentioned. First, rather than measuring emotional behavior, the research utilized self-report assessments of rage expressions (Van Doren & Soto, 2021).
Second, since the study that was conducted was non-experimental, researchers are unable to establish a link between the expression of anger and the symptomatology of depression (Van Doren & Soto, 2021). Third, considering how long it took to measure depressive symptoms and angry expression, it is also feasible that other factors played a role in the reported effect throughout the nine years (Van Doren & Soto, 2021). To reduce the impact of limitations on the research work, the authors claim that future studies should examine these potentialities using diverse samples in terms of culture and ethnicity.
Criticism
Upon reviewing the article, I recognized that I learned much information and gained more insights into how gender differences can manifest in an individual’s well-being. The findings of the given research taught me how anger impacts women and men and can lead to depression-related disorders without proper stress management. I additionally acknowledged the role of social norms and standards in the individual’s mental wellness.
Additionally, it is noteworthy that the researchers got the results they expected to see. Initially, the hypothesis was that women are the most affected when it comes to anger expression, and it can lead to the development of depression in the long term. Consequently, after conducting a study on the findings of a nine-year basis, it was determined that women are indeed affected by anger in a negative way, while men are less susceptible to the effects of this emotion.
The article was easy to follow since the authors avoided using complicated terms and frameworks and relied on well-known concepts and theories. Additionally, they provided meanings for abbreviations, which made it more convenient to follow the thought. As for the weaknesses, several were identified by the authors, encompassing the non-experimental nature of the paper, self-report assessments, and length of the study. As a result, the findings can be less reliable due to subjectivity.
Overall, I expected to see such results in the study and was not surprised by the findings. I believe that it was appropriate to show how the psychological well-being of women can be affected by societal norms and expectations. While this does not suggest a new direction for research on this topic, I think that more focus should be given to the matter. In general, the given paper encouraged me to read more about gender-specific reactions to various emotions.
Conclusion
In summary, although everyone can exhibit anger, women are more likely to experience the negative effects of anger, which include despair and the need for effective stress management. The current investigation falls under the category of secondary analysis; more precisely, it is a longitudinal study that uses available data. Researchers looked into the topic because they noticed a gap in the research and realized that gender stereotypes, along with gendered manifestations of rage, could negatively impact women’s mental health and increase the risk of depression-related illnesses.
The authors postulated that the root cause might be a main effect of sex, which would explain why women have more depressed symptoms than men. The writers provide insightful information on rage and make recommendations for more studies. Gender, as predicted, mitigated the impact of anger-out on depressive disorders; that is, higher levels of anger-out at the beginning were associated with higher levels of depression in women nine years later, even after controlling for baseline depression. The authors argue that future studies should investigate these potentialities by utilizing different samples concerning culture and ethnicity to lessen the influence of restrictions on research activity.
References
de Bles, N. J., Ottenheim, N. R., van Hemert, A. M., Pütz, L. E., van der Does, A. W., Penninx, B. W., & Giltay, E. J. (2019). Trait anger and anger attacks in relation to depressive and anxiety disorders. Journal of Affective Disorders, 259, 259-265. Web.
Van Doren, N., & Soto, J. A. (2021). Paying the price for anger: Do women bear greater costs? International Journal of Psychology, 56(3), 331-337. Web.
Worthen, M., & Cash, E. (2023). Stress management. National Library of Medicine. Web.