2 - (SYM 95) Novel Assessment of the Unique Association Between Irritability and Anger Responses to Frustration in Adolescents

Irritability is typically defined as a proneness to anger, particularly in response to frustration. Despite anger’s role in the conceptualization of irritability, it has received limited empirical attention, with much prior work instead using broad ratings of negative emotion and frustration. Further, most studies use computer-based tasks to examine neural responses to frustration, with little research examining stress-related responding to frustration in social contexts. This presentation will detail findings of a recent study that was the first to utilize the novel Frustration Social Stressor for Adolescents (FSS-A; Cameron et al., 2017) to examine associations between adolescent irritability and anger and salivary cortisol responses to frustration.

The FSS-A was completed by a predominantly male, racially, ethnically, and socioeconomically diverse sample of 64 12- to 17-year-olds, who were originally recruited as children with varying levels of irritability. Forty-eight participants completed the FSS-A in person, and 16 completed a newly developed online version of the FSS-A due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The FSS-A, a modification of the Trier Social Stress Test designed to induce anger in addition to anxiety, consists of a debate with a confederate about a frustrating topic and a mental math task. Adolescents rated state anger and anxiety before and after the FSS-A. Saliva samples were collected at six time points during in-person visits, with usable cortisol data obtained from 43 participants. Irritability was assessed using the Multidimensional Assessment Profiles-Temper Loss scale (MAP-TL-Youth).

Adolescents demonstrated significant increases in state anger (mean difference = 1.25, t[63] = 2.82, p = .006; Cohen’s d = .35) and anxiety (mean difference = 2.05, t[63] = 4.82, p < .001; Cohen’s d = .60) scores at post-task. Higher MAP-TL-Youth scores were associated with greater increases in anger (p = .037, ΔR² = .05), but not increases in anxiety (p = .490, ΔR² = .01) or alterations in cortisol (ps > .05, ΔR² < .06). Pre-task state anger negatively predicted the slope of the rise in cortisol observed in anticipation of the FSS-A (linear slope 1; b = -.005, p = .037, ΔR² = .044).

Results provide support for unique associations between adolescent irritability and anger during, and in anticipation of, frustrating social interactions. This emotional specificity bolsters frequently used irritability definitions and translational models that suggest a prominent role of anger, and emphasizes dysregulated anger as an important treatment target.