Anger, psychopathology and cognitive inhibition: a study of UK servicemen

A link between anger and psychopathology, and aggression and cognitive impairment has been postulated. This study examined the relationships between anger, psychopathology, and neurocognitive function in a military sample of 136 men without overt brain disease. A battery of neurocognitive tests was administered, including the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory (STAXI), which recognises different experience and expression components of anger. Significant positive correlations between anger and psychopathogical measures were revealed, with the exception of anger control which exhibited a negative relationship. Correlations between anger measures and neuropsychological variables were weaker, few were significant, and no specific pattern emerged. Structural equation modelling indicated that psychopathogical variables and their relationship with neurocognitive variables, rather than anger, contributed significantly to the model. We propose that anger appears to be a manifestation of non-specific psychopathology (anxiety and depression), and that any relationship between anger and cognitive function is likely to be mediated through depression.