Anger and emotion regulation in interpersonal and intrapersonal contexts: a systematic review

Anger regulation and the way people choose to regulate their anger can influence the intensity of emotion or one’s behavior. In this systematic review, identifying 26 studies, we aimed to analyze the impact of several emotion regulation strategies on anger experience. The studies in this present research include interpersonal contexts (e.g., interaction with a participant) or intrapersonal contexts (trait anger or autobiographical recall). There are included studies that focus on implicit emotion regulation strategies, and at the same time, studies that manipulate emotion regulation strategies. All participants in the selected studies are adults. The results show that cognitive reappraisal is a healthy emotion regulation strategy and can decrease the intensity of anger. Another strategy that has the same effect on anger is distraction. Speaking of two other emotion regulation strategies: experiential avoidance and other-blame, evidence suggests that these strategies do not help in dealing with anger. A few studies approach venting as a strategy for regulating anger. The effects of expressive suppression and anger rumination are mixed. Our study emphasizes the need for additional laboratory-based studies and extend the research on different emotion regulation strategies.