Anger management improves with age In women, study says
That's a skill, and it improves during a person's lifespan, a new study says.
Women get better at managing their anger as they age, starting in middle-age, researchers reported Wednesday in the journal Menopause.
That doesn't mean they're less angry. Researchers found that as women got older, they were more prone to anger and their anger became more intense, results show.
But women also became less likely to express their anger or act with hostility, researchers found.
'These findings are consistent with research on emotion regulation efforts during aging, such that efforts to control anger increase along with experiences of anger,' concluded the research team led by Nancy Fugate Woods of the University of Washington School of Nursing in Seattle.
For the study, researchers analyzed data from 271 women taking part in the Seattle Midlife Women's Health Study, a long-term research project that started in the early 1990s.
As part of the project, participants filled out a questionnaire related to their anger and hostility levels up to four or five times over the years.
Results showed that as women aged, they became more adept at managing anger even though they felt it more acutely.
Researchers said this might be because women feel more generativity - a sense of positively impacting the world by caring for others, particularly future generations - as they go through middle age and menopause.
'Implying greater emotional complexity among older adults, some of these changes may be seen in midlife and contribute to a sense of integration and maturity, supporting the development of generativity with aging,' researchers wrote.
Women also might become more tactical with their anger, expressing it in ways that are more positive and constructive to improve relationships, researchers said. Women who use anger in a positive way tend to feel better empowerment and self-regard.
More research is needed on women's anger in the context of everyday life, to provide more information on emotion regulation and anger management strategies, researchers said.
'The mental health side of the menopause transition can have a significant effect on a woman's personal and professional life,' Dr. Monica Christmas, associate medical director for The Menopause Society, said in a news release.
'It is well recognized that fluctuations in serum hormone concentrations during the postpartum period, as well as monthly fluctuations in reproductive-aged women corresponding with their menstrual cycles and during perimenopause, can result in severe mood swings associated with anger and hostility,' continued Christmas, who was not involved in the study.
'Educating women about the possibility of mood changes during these vulnerable windows and actively managing symptoms can have a profound effect on overall quality of life and health,' she said.
More information
The American Psychological Association has more on anger management.
Copyright © 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Copyright 2025 UPI News Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
UPI
2 hours ago
- UPI
State Department to burn birth control worth $9.7M meant for poor nations
The U.S. government plans to destroy $9.7 million of contraceptives for poor nations, mainly in Africa, after the nation "explored all possible options to prevent the destruction." UPI file photo | License Photo July 27 (UPI) -- The U.S. government plans to destroy a stockpile of contraceptives worth $9.7 million for poor nations, mainly in Africa, after the State Department "explored all possible options to prevent the destruction." The contraceptives include nearly 2 million doses of injectables, 900,000 implantable devices and more than 2 million oral packets, according to internal auditing in April obtained by The Washington Post. Chelsea Polis, a researcher with Guttsmacher Institute, which supports abortion rights, told the newspaper that the contraceptives could provide more than 650,000 women with pregnancy protection for up to one year and 950,000 women for three years. U.S. laws and rules prohibit sending U.S. aid to organizations that provide abortion services, counsel about the procedure or advocate for the right overseas. "The State Department confirms that a preliminary decision was made to destroy certain abortifacient birth control commodities from terminated Biden-era USAID contracts," a spokesperson said in a statement. "Only a limited number of commodities have been approved for disposal. No HIV medications or condoms are being destroyed." The destruction will cost $167,000, the spokesperson said. Most contraceptives have less than 70% of shelf life before expiration, the spokesperson said. The Guardian contacted an aide who visited the warehouse in Belgium and found the earliest expiration date was 2027. Two-thirds didn't have any labels. Belgium, the United Nations and humanitarian groups said they unsuccessfully stopped the destruction plans for the contraceptives. The U.S. Agency for International Development, which Trump disbanded and merged into the State Department, was to have distributed them. They are part of a $9.5 billion program over 10 years to provide aid to more than 40 nations. The government said it based its decision on a policy that restricts funding for reproductive-related actions in the Mexico City Policy and the Kemp-Kasten amendment. President Ronald Reagan instituted the policy in 1985 and it has become a political issue. It has rescinded by Democratic presidents and reinstated by Republicans several times, including by President Donald Trump when he returned to office in January. A bipartisan group of U.S. legislators doesn't want the contraceptives to be destroyed, including Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Democrats Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire and Brian Schatz of Hawaii. "This is a waste of U.S. taxpayer dollars and an abdication of U.S. global leadership in preventing unintended pregnancies, unsafe abortions and maternal deaths," said Shaheen, who in June sent a letter to the Secretary of State Marco Rubio about the matter. The U.N. Population Fund and the International Planned Parenthood Federation were interested in receiving the contraceptives. "UNFPA was in conversation with Chemonics about purchasing the contraceptives but didn't receive an answer from them," UNFPA spokesman Eddie Wright said. "It's the height of hypocrisy for a government to preach efficiency and cutting waste, only to turn around and recklessly destroy lifesaving supplies when the need has never been greater," Micah Grzywnowicz, regional director of the International Planned Parenthood Federation European Network, said in a statement MSI Reproductive Choices offered to pay for shipping and repackaging. MSI provides abortion services. "The complete dismantling of the world's largest donor for international family planning has been a catastrophe for the global supply chain of contraceptives," said Sarah Shaw, associate director of advocacy and for the organization. Sub-Saharan Africa has experienced an increase in teen births, according to a study at Columbia University in 2024. The number of births climbed from 4.5 million births in 2000 to 6.1 million in 2021as they decreased in the rest of the world. In Africa, 30% of all woman use birth control but more than half would use it if available, according to DebboAfrica, a healthcare company for African women. Worldwide, around half of women of reproductive age of 15-19 use some form of contraception, according to Focus2030. Foreign aid cuts could lead to more than 14 million additional deaths by 2023, including two-thirds children, according to a study published in Lancet earlier this month. Congress earlier this month passed legislation to remove $8 billion in foreign assistance. The Atlantic reported earlier this month that 551 tons of emergency food were expiring and will be incinerated rather than being fed to almost 1.5 million children in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Almost 800,000 Mpox vaccines to be sent to Africa also are not usable because they are past their expiration date, Politico reported earlier this month.
UPI
6 hours ago
- UPI
SpaceX launches 24 satellites to polar areas to boost internet access
1 of 2 | SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket Saturday night from Vandenberg Space Force Base near Lompoc, Calif. Photo courtesy of SpaceX July 27 (UPI) -- SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket Saturday night from Vandenberg Space Force Base near Lompoc, Calif. The mission put 24 Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit. It will deploy the satellites into a polar orbit to boost internet service in polar regions. The Starlink 17-2 mission launched from Space Launch Complex 4 East at 9:31 p.m. PDT. The Falcon 9 ship with tail number B1075 took its 19th trip to space, including 16 Starlink missions. About 8 1/2 minutes after liftoff, the ship landed on the droneship "Of Course I Still Love You," in the Pacific Ocean. It was the 142nd landing for this vessel and the 481st booster landing for SpaceX. There are more than 8,000 Starlink satellites in orbit, according to astronomer Jonathan McDowell. On Thursday, Starlink users reported a rare full network outage of internet service. It began at 4 p.m. About 2 1/2 hours later, SpaceX announced most service had been restored. Then, 1 1/2 hours later, full service was back, Starlink reported.
Miami Herald
a day ago
- Miami Herald
NASA crew readies for ISS mission launch on Thursday
July 26 (UPI) -- An international crew of four is readying for Thursday's planned launch of a NASA mission to the International Space Station after arriving at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency specialist Kimiya Yui and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov will travel from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39A to the ISS while aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour. Cardman is the mission's leader. The crew landed at Space Florida's Launch and Landing Facility at 1:12 EDT after leaving from Houston on Saturday morning. "We are absolutely joyed to be here at Kennedy Space Center," Cardman said upon the crew's landing. "This is the first moment when it's really starting to feel real," she said. "This is the beginning of a week when things will feel progressively more and more real as we approach our launch." Mission pilot Fincke said the mission gives him another chance to fly aboard a spacecraft named Endeavour. "One of the last times I landed at the [Florida launch and landing facility] was on space shuttle Endeavour," Fincke told media. "Now we get to go on another endeavor - a Dragon Endeavour," he said. The Endeavour name honors the HMS Endeavour, which British Capt. James Cook used to explore and chart the South Pacific from 1768 to 1771. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will deliver the Endeavor into low Earth orbit, which will make the Crew Dragon spacecraft the most flown among SpaceX's fleet. Thursday's launch is scheduled at 12:09 p.m. EDT and would enable the Endeavor to dock at the ISS on Aug. 2 if the launch occurs as planned. The four crew members will join Expedition 73, which already is at the ISS. An Expedition 74 crew is scheduled to replace the Expedition 73 crew while the Crew 11 team is at the ISS. Copyright 2025 UPI News Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
