The Relationship between High School Students’ Destructive Anger Expression and Self-control Skills

Abstract

Aim: The aim of this study is to determine whether there is significant correlation between high school students’ expressing anger destructively and their self-control skills for coping with anger. Methodology: The participants were 502 (201 male - 301 female) students whose ages varied between 14 and 18 and who were studying at various high schools in EreÄŸli, Zonguldak. The mean age and standart deviation of the participants were 15.24±3.67. In the collection of research data, Self-Control Scale and Multidimensional School Anger Inventory’s positive coping skills and subscales of expressing anger destructively were used. Results: Negative significant relationships were found between self-control skills of high-school students and experiential self-control (r = -.232, p<.01); reformative self-control (r = -.213, p<.01), redressive self-control (r =-.250, p<.01); and positive correlations were found between reformative (r =.270, p<.01), and redressive self-control (r =.437, p<.01) and destructive expression of anger. Also, there were found that high school students’ self-control skills were important predictor for expressing anger destructively and coping with anger by self-control skills. Conclusion: Adolescents with self-control skills could express their anger more positively, and they had less negative experiences by controlling their anger. They could think consciously, questioned their experiences, and they were aware of that their behaviours had certain consequences easily controlled by themselves.