Factors Associated with Anger among Male Adolescents in Western Iran: An Application of Social Cognitive Theory

INTRODUCTION: Anger can be defined a natural emotional response that is gradually formed to protect us in dealing with threats, damages, assaults, and failures; while hatred is a change of attitude which is built following the persistence of anger towards a subject or an individual. One of the main reasons of adolescents’ reference to the counseling centers is their anger accompanied by violence. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to determine the social cognitive factors associated with anger among a population of adolescents in the west of Iran based on the social cognitive theory. METHODOLOGY: Samples were selected based on multi-stage cluster sampling. Method including the first and the second-grade male high school students from Ilam town (N=360). The Spielberger’s anger questionnaire (STAXI 2) and a self-designed questionnaire based on Bandura’s social cognitive theory were employed as the data collection instruments in the present study. RESULTS: Of the selected population, 200 students were the first-grade and 160 students were the second-grade students. 135 students were the first child of the family, 150 students were the second or the third birth, and 75 students were the fifth or above in their families. Descriptive tests and correlation analysis were used to conduct the statistical analysis. Although there was a significant and inverse relationship between all the components of the theory and anger, the strongest relationship was seen in self-efficacy (-0.585) and the weakest relationship was seen in modeling (-0.297). DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: If was concluded that helping people to know their abilities and have a better personal judgment in this case, can influence their anger control. In addition, the process of stress management can effectively increase an individual’s emotional coping.