Coping in Anger Episodes: Developmental Differences and Self-Efficacy Beliefs

Anger has been recognized as a natural emotion; however, its poor management in adolescence is associated with some adverse developmental outcomes. The aims of this study were to compare the antecedents and coping strategies of anger episodes between adolescents and adults and the role of perceived self-efficacy on the coping strategies. A total of 88 adolescents (44 female, M-age = 16.81 years, SD = 1.21) and 94 adults (49 female, M-age = 28.11 years, SD = 5.82) reported an anger episode and the coping strategy adopted. Participants also filled in the Regulatory Emotional Self-Efficacy Scale (RESE). The results show that there are no specific antecedents among only adolescents or adults, although there are differences between the two age groups. Furthermore, the results indicate a different use of coping strategies between adolescents and adults. Specifically, a greater propensity of adolescents to use more often maladaptive strategies such as avoidance and denial emerged, but in addiction inaction, considered an adaptive strategy, can also be found. However, although adults use less maladaptive coping strategies they report a high frequency of feeling of powerlessness. The adaptive differences in coping also are explained by the different levels of self-efficacy beliefs of the participants. These findings are discussed in the light of the adaptive role of the coping strategies.