Asian Research Thesis Index

Abstract

The present research investigated anger expression in children with emotional behavioural problems and its relationship with parental perception, child temperament, and cognitive appraisal in Pakistani cultural context. The research was initiated with the hypotheses that authoritarian, permissive and uninvolved, parental perception would positively relate whereas authoritative parental perception would negatively relate with anger expression in children. Parental Perception, child temperament and cognitive appraisal would likely to predict anger expression in children. Role of child temperament as moderator and cognitive appraisal as mediator was also studied. The present research was carried out in two studies. In Study I an indigenous anger expression scale was developed, validated and standardized. Principal component analysis with varimax rotation and kaiser normalization generated four factors that were labeled as externalized anger, feeling of rejection, hostility and violence, and internalized anger. Moreover four measures including State Trait Anger Expression Inventory-2 for Children and Adolescents (Brunner & Spilberger 2009), Parental Perception Questionnaire (Pasquali et al, 2012), School Aged Temperament Inventory (McClowry, 1995) and Child Appraisal Questionnaire (Hood, Power, & Hill, 2009) were translated into Urdu following the standardized forward-backward translation procedures. In Study II, cross sectional research design was followed and a sample of 450 children including 225 children with emotional-behavioural problems and 225 emotionally healthy children were drawn from three hospitals and four schools in Lahore city. The age range of children was 9 through 13 (M=11.35, SD=1.36). Results indicated that authoritarian parental perception positively related and predicted while authoritative, permissive and uninvolved parental perception negatively related and predicted anger expression in children with xx emotional behavioural problems and emotionally healthy children. Likewise uninvolved parental perception positively related and predicted internalized anger expression. Child temperament significantly moderated and cognitive appraisal (significance, predictability and self- blame) significantly mediated the relationship in between parental perception and anger expression in children. Children with emotional behavioural problems were obtained higher scores on externalized anger expression and hostility and violence subscale. Gender differences were also observed but only for internalized anger expression i.e girls obtained higher scores. The findings and their implications were discussed on the part of parents, educators, researchers and clinicians.

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