title: Moderators and mediators of the stress-aggression relationship: executive function and state anger.
abstract: The present study examined the effects of executive function (i.e., EF) and anger/hostility on the relationship between stress (across individual stress domains, as well as at the aggregate level) and aggression. Two independent groups of participants-a college sample and a low-income community sample-were administered a battery of self-report measures concerning the subjective experience of stress, aggressive behaviors, and feelings of state anger and hostility in the last month, along with a battery of well-validated neuropsychological tests of EF. Across both samples, the stress domains that demonstrated the strongest associations with aggression were those involving chronic strains of daily living (e.g., job, financial, health) versus interpersonal stressors (e.g., family, romantic). In the community sample, analyses also revealed a significant interaction between perceived stress (aggregated across domains) and EF in predicting aggressive behavior. Specifically, participants with relatively low EF abilities, across different EF processes, showed a stronger relationship between different domains of stress and aggression in the last month. Similar effects were demonstrated in the college sample, although the interaction was not significant. In both samples, experiences of anger and hostility in the last month mediated the relationship between perceived stress (aggregate) and aggressive behavior among those low, but not high, in EF. These findings highlight the importance of higher-order cognitive processes in regulating appropriate affective and behavioral responses across different types of individuals, particularly among those experiencing high levels of stress.
authors.affiliation: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL 61820, USA. jspragu2@illinois.edu
authors.forename: Jenessa
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sprague
authors.forename: Edelyn
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Verona
authors.forename: Will
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Kalkhoff
authors.forename: Ashley
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kilmer
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000374:Aggression / Q000523:psychology*; D000786:Anger; D056344:Executive Function; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011581:Psychological Tests; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult