Anger, Anger Expression, and Biopsychosocial Health in Korean Adolescents.

Park,  Young Joo; Han,  Kuem Sun; Shin,  Nah Mee; Kang,  Hyun Cheol; Chun,  Sook Hee; Yoon,  Ji Won; Shin,  Hyunjeong

doi:2010.19.1.106

J Korean Acad Psychiatr Ment Health Nurs > Volume 19(1); 2010 > Article

Original Article

Journal of Korean Academy of psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing 2010;19(1):106-116.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.12934/jkpmhn.2010.19.1.106 Published online March 31, 2010.

Anger, Anger Expression, and Biopsychosocial Health in Korean Adolescents.

Young Joo Park, Kuem Sun Han, Nah Mee Shin, Hyun Cheol Kang, Sook Hee Chun, Ji Won Yoon, Hyunjeong Shin

¹College of Nursing, Korea University, Korea. nshin@korea.ac.kr
²Department of Informational Statistics, Hoseo University, Korea.
³Department of Nursing, Sangji University, Korea.
⁴Department of Nursing, Suwon Women's College, Korea.

Abstract

PURPOSE
The purpose of this study was to explore status and relationships of anger and its expression type to biopsychosocial health in Korean adolescents. METHODS: This cross-sectional study used four reliable survey questionnaires that measure anger, depression, resilience, and psychosomatic symptoms. Data were collected from 18,752 students of 36 middle schools and 23 high schools located in 23 administrative districts in Seoul, Korea. RESULTS: The Korean adolescents who completed the questionnaires indicated moderate level of trait anger. 45% of them demonstrated using one of three undesirable types of anger expression such as dysfunctional anger-in and anger-out, high level anger-in, or high level anger-out. Also, level of trait anger and types of anger expression were significantly associated with resilience, depression, and psychosomatic health status. CONCLUSION: School-based mental health education such as anger management programs for Korean adolescents might be necessary to help them develop desirable and effective coping skills and strategies.

Key Words: Anger; Psychosomatic disorder; Depression; Resilience