Investigation of the Relationship Between Anger Components and Mental Symptoms in Working Adolescents

Objective: Working adolescents is a risk group open to every kind of exploitation in their work lives as they have not completed their development period yet. Inappropriate working conditions cause permanent physical and mental problems in adolescents. With the aim of protecting and improving the working adolescents' mental health, the examination of the relationship between anger components and mental symptoms in working adolescents has been purposed, considering that anger is an important factor that foresee the mental health. Methods: This study included 249 apprenticeship students in Odemis Professional Training Center. Data was gathered using Knowledge Form, the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory (STAXI), Multidimensional Anger Scale (MAS), and Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI). The data were evaluated by means of descriptive statistics, mean, standard deviations, parametric and nonparametric tests, correlations, reliability and validity tests. Results: The average age of the adolescents that attended the research was 16.1 +/- 1.1. Subscale internal consistency coefficients of the scales used in this study varied between 0.74 and 0.95 for BSI, between 0.64 and 0.85 for the STAXI, between 0.88 and 0.98 for the MAS. Correlation coefficients pointed out noteworthy (p<0.01, p<0.05) and positive relationships that vary as low, middle and high level for all subscales between subscales of the STAXI, the MAS, and the BSI, except for the Anger Control Subscale. When working adolescents' descriptive characteristics were compared with the scale scores of the adolescents, the scale scores revealed statistically significant differences regarding gender, age groups, sectors, income levels, perception of the mental health, and leisure time activities (p<0.05). Conclusion: Age, the impact of repudiative and hurtful social attitudes towards adolescent, the aspect of adolescents' time allocation to rest and entertainment, the status of being satisfied with his/her work have been ascertained as considerable to determine level of anger and reactions of anger on working adolescents. Positive and significant relations have been determined between anger and mental symptoms. (Archives of Neuropsychiatry 2010; 47: 105-10)