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Do Children make You Angry?
Sometimes, it does not take much to drive you over the edge and let your anger overtake what you are really trying to do. We tend to feel terrible in such a situation, but perhaps it makes you feel better that scientists have released new findings on common origins of anger. And yes, having children in a household is said to be a contributor to angry behavior. Do you agree?
The results released by the University of Toronto is based on a survey of more than 1000 Americans aged 18 and older. Project lead Scott Schieman will be publishing basic social patterns of anger in a book entitled International Handbook of Anger, scheduled for a January 2010 launch, but offers a few notes on his findings now.
According to Schieman, young people experience more frequent anger than older adults due to the fact that they feel more time pressure, economic hardship and workplace conflicts. People with fewer years of education are more likely to feel anger and people with more education are more likely to act proactively to avoid anger. People exposed to more financial strain tend to have higher levels of anger.
“The sociological analysis of anger can shed light on the ways that the conditions of society influence emotional inequality,” says Schieman. “Why do some people seem to experience more anger than others? And what does this say about social inequality and its impact in our everyday lives?”
The scientist found that “children in the household is associated with angry feelings and behaviour (i.e., yelling) and these patterns are stronger among women compared to men.” Interestingly, he also states that “feeling rushed for time is the strongest predictor of anger, especially the “low-grade” forms like feeling annoyed.”
I can’t help but think that especially these two findings are interconnected and I would disagree that the simple fact that there are children in a household is a reason for anger. The true reasons may include time pressure and the task to handle different activities simultaneously, which especially applies to single parents.
Blaming the presence of children for angry behavior may be a bit out of place.
