Post-Trauma Cognitions and Anger: Considering the Effects of Elapsed Time Since Intimate Partner Violence

Abstract

Post-trauma anger is understudied in individuals who have experienced interpersonal trauma, although related work documents a curvilinear association between anger and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. The current study aimed to explore whether the association between negative post-trauma cognitions about the self and about the world with anger (expressed inward and expressed outward) increased with greater elapsed time since trauma. The sample included 119 women who experienced intimate partner violence (IPV). Moderation analyses were conducted separately for each type of negative cognition and each form of anger expression. Results indicated that elapsed time since IPV exposure moderated the association between negative cognitions and anger expressed inward, such that as more time passed since the IPV ended, negative cognitions about the self and world were significantly positively associated with anger expression inward. This association was not significant at lower elapsed times since IPV. Elapsed time did not moderate the association between both forms of negative cognitions and anger expressed outward. The findings of the study highlight the importance of understanding different types of anger expression in survivors of interpersonal trauma and their association with other post-trauma psychological processes, such as negative post-trauma cognitions.