Halberstadt, A. G., Beale, K. R., Meade, A., Craig, A. B., & Parker, A. E. (2014). Anger in the Family: Individual and Dyadic Contributions. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, doi: 10.1177/0265407514552617

We addressed three questions about anger in the family, including the derivation of anger, the presence of anger contagion, and the degree to which family members share perceptions about anger in the family. Seventh-grade children, mothers, and fathers independently reported on the frequency and intensity of anger in six family relationships (child to mother, mother to child, child to father, father to child, mother to father, and father to mother). Analyses based on the social relations model revealed that family members share the belief that anger in the family is the result of individuals’ own styles of anger and, to a lesser degree, is created within unique relationships. Family members also recognized emotion contagion effects across all familial relationships. Overall, children, mothers, and fathers seemed to share perceptions about anger in the family with one exception. Implications for further research and family relationships are discussed.