Anger is among the earliest
occurring symptoms of mental health, yet we know little about its developmental
course. Further, no studies have examined whether youth with persistent anger
are at an increased risk of exhibiting antisocial personality features in
adulthood, or how cognitive control abilities may protect these individuals
from developing such maladaptive outcomes.
Trajectories of anger were
delineated among 503 boys using annual assessments from childhood to middle
adolescence (ages ∼7-14). Associations between these trajectories and
features of antisocial personality in young adulthood (age ∼28) were examined,
including whether cognitive control moderates this association.
Five
trajectories of anger were identified (i.e., childhood-onset,
childhood-limited, adolescent-onset, moderate, and low). Boys in the
childhood-onset group exhibited the highest adulthood antisocial personality
features (e.g., psychopathy, aggression, criminal charges). However, boys in
this group were buffered from these problems if they had higher levels of
cognitive control during adolescence. Findings were consistent across measures
from multiple informants, replicated across distinct time periods, and remained
when controlling for general intelligence and prior antisocial behavior.
This
is the first study to document the considerable heterogeneity in the
developmental course of anger from childhood to adolescence. As hypothesized,
good cognitive control abilities protected youth with persistent anger problems
from developing antisocial personality features in adulthood. Clinical implications
and future directions are discussed.
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