Anger and aggression in borderline personality disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder – does stress matter?

BACKGROUND: The impact of stress on anger and aggression in Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) has not been thoroughly investigated. The goal of this study was to investigate different aspects of anger and aggression in patients with these disorders. METHODS: Twenty-nine unmedicated female BPD patients, 28 ADHD patients and 30 healthy controls (HC) completed self-reports measuring trait anger, aggression and emotion regulation capacities. A modified version of the Point Subtraction Aggression Paradigm and a state anger measurement were applied under resting and stress conditions. Stress was induced by the Mannheim Multicomponent Stress Test (MMST). RESULTS: Both patient groups scored significantly higher on all self-report measures compared to HCs. Compared to ADHD patients, BPD patients reported higher trait aggression and hostility, a stronger tendency to express anger when provoked and to direct anger inwardly. Furthermore, BPD patients exhibited higher state anger than HCs and ADHD patients under both conditions and showed a stress-dependent anger increase. At the behavioral level, no significant effects were found. In BPD patients, aggression and anger were positively correlated with emotion regulation deficits. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest a significant impact of stress on self-perceived state anger in BPD patients but not on aggressive behavior towards others in females with BPD or ADHD. However, it appears to be pronounced inwardly directed anger which is of clinical importance in BPD patients. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s40479-017-0057-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.