Predicting anger in social anxiety: The mediating role of rumination

Anger and the way that anger is expressed have been linked to attrition and poorer treatment outcomes in patients with Social Anxiety Disorder (e.g., Erwin, B. A., Heimberg, R. G., Schneier, F. R. & Liebowitz, M. R. (2003). Anger experience and expression in social anxiety disorder: Pretreatment profile and predictors of attrition and response to cognitive-behavioral treatment. Behavior Therapy, 34, 331–350). Understanding the connection between social anxiety and anger may be one way to improve outcomes in this population. A cross-sectional regression design was used in a sample of 363 undergraduates to examine the suggestion that ruminative thought is a critical factor linking social anxiety to anger. In support of this hypothesis, brooding fully mediated the relationship between social anxiety and trait anger and partially mediated the relationship between social anxiety and outward anger expression. The relationship between brooding and anger suppression became non-significant after depression was controlled. In contrast, reflective pondering partially mediated the relationship between social anxiety and anger suppression. These results suggest that addressing rumination may be useful in the treatment of socially anxious patients who struggle with anger. They also support the utility of considering multiple forms of rumination and multiple anger outcomes in a single study.