Healthytalk8 Anger in children, even all ages of humans is normal, which trigger by things or situations that make us angry.
Anger is a strong feeling that you get when something bad happens to you or when someone does something wrong.
It is common like other emotional conditions, such as stress, happiness, sadness, fear, or predatory behavior (1).
During anger, it triggers the Amygdala (a part of the brain that is responsible for emotions).
Its releases catecholamines and cortisol, these chemicals that increase our heart rate and blood pressure.
In addition, constant chronic anger can significantly increase your chances of getting heart disease.
Researchers have reported that cardiovascular diseases such as hypertension are closely allied with the human emotion of anger.
It is normal, but it can become a problem if a child’s angry behavior becomes out of control or aggressive.
There are many reasons for anger in children which include:
Family environment
Contents
It matters a lot, how you lived in your environment or how were you raised by your parents.
Parents play an important role in children’s lives, which can become good and bad people in their future life.
Many research suggests that children at a young age of 1 to 2 years old can be negatively affected by the rude behavior of parents.
Not only at a young age but also adults up to 19 years old can become sensitive and in future rude or angry behavior occur.
Continuously anger is a risk factor for mental and physical health.
So if see any kind of aggressive or different behavior like not meeting with other people for a long time as a child, so talk to your doctor.
A 2017 study saw a link between physical and verbal abuse and childhood troubles, including poor mental health, in 350 homeless people ages 50 and older.
Mental health issues
Anger can cause an underlying disorder, such as alcoholism or depression. but anger is a known symptom of several mental health conditions.
The long-term physical effects of uncontrolled anger include increased anxiety, high blood pressure, and headache.
Anger is common among patients with depression and anxiety, and is related to the severity of depressive episodes (1) (2) (3).
The spreading of anger is also high among people with panic disorder, and cluster B and C personality disorders (2).
Not only children, but adults with alcohol use disorder are also strongly allied with intense, or poorly controlled anger (4).
ADHD (Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder)
ADHD is referred to as a common childhood psychiatric disorder and has a strong genetic, neurobiological, and neurochemical basis (3).
It is normal, but it can become a problem if a child’s angry behavior becomes out of control or aggressive.
Studies have shown that ADHD and anger can be connected, where ADHD child’s emotions are greater intensity than those without ADHD.
A study that included 696 children with ADHD, showed that 91% had at least one symptom of irritability.
Anxiety
A study result, of adults with anxiety disorders that the rate and intensity of anger are elevated when compared to healthy controls.
Anxiety signs in children include:
- Difficulty in concentration
- excessive worry about school, friends, activities
- always crying
- change in appetite
- low confidence and self-esteem
- fatigue and restlessness
- irritability
- difficulty in sleeping with bad breams
- physical signs such as headache, frequent stool when worried,
Childhood anxiety disorders can interfere with a range of other disorders in childhood and young adults, like depression, and conduct disorder (3) (4).
Genetic
A paper published by the Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience found that people who are genetically predisposed toward aggression try hard to control their anger.
In a study, results showed an association between anger expression and life events is largely the result of common genes.
According to ScienceDaily development of physical aggression in toddlers is highly allied with genetic factors and to some degree with the environment.
However, lifestyle support genetic traits, other than that you cannot control the inheritance, you can control the development from the inheritance.
Autism
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder where a person has difficulty in social communication and social interaction.
It’s common for autistic children to behave aggressively towards themselves or other people (2)
A study found that children with ASD frequently engaged in aggression to gain access to repetitive behaviors.
Aggression is clearly associated with negative outcomes for children with ASD including:
- Impaired social relationships
- placement in restrictive schools
- use of physical intervention
- increased risk of suffering
A study results that ASD was associated with increased anger concerns, which in turn was allied with hospitality and aggression (6).
The 2015 study on individuals found that having more ASD symptoms was associated with more anger concerns.
Being bully
Studies showed that while reactive aggression was common in bullies and victims, proactive aggression was the only trait of bullies.
Bullying is a big problem that affects lots of kids, which can make kids feel hurt, scared, sick, lonely, embarrassed, and sad (8).
This feeling either makes the child very aggressive or very weak, those who later take out the atrocities on themselves on someone else.
These symptoms can be seen in children who suffer from bullies which include:
- Anger and desire for revenge
- mental health issues like depression, suicidal thoughts, and feeling
- fear
- difficulty or avoid interacting with people
- self-esteem problem
- feel alone, and cry when alone
- reduced occupational opportunities
- Increase the risk of physical injured
Other possible reasons
Anger in children is not only related to mental and other life events, it also happens due to many other common reasons which include:
- A demand for something
- learning disorder (where the child has difficulty learning something)
- playing with a toy or doing an activity that is hard to figure out
- feeling hungry or tired
- Expected daily routine
- interacting with a sibling or another child
When to talk to a doctor
Here is some sign that you should not ignore in children, especially when they are emotional outbursts that include:
- If your child’s tantrums and anger are seen past several days
- sudden changes in behavior, like not being happy with others, may be related to ongoing life events
- when behavior is dangerous for his/herself or other
- In school when teachers report child behavior out of control
- If they’re upset because they feel they can’t control their anger, that makes them feel bad about themselves
- When their tantrums become difficult to handle and disturb family and other person life
Along with the behavior changes, also tell some such problems which may be due to it.
BOTTOM LINE
Childhood disruptive behaviors such as anger and aggression are among the most frequent reasons for outpatient mental health referrals (5)
Anger in children is common, which can be triggered by many life events such as something, genetic anger behavior, or revenge on someone.
In addition, constant chronic anger can significantly increase your chances of getting heart disease, especially in an adult.
