Anger Outbursts in Teens

Everyone experiences being mad. Anger is a natural emotion that when properly handled helps teens advocate for themselves and others. Unfortunately, not all teens navigate the rough seas of being angry without hitting a few rocks. It becomes inappropriate and even dangerous behavior when a teen's anger outburst is excessively loud and/or accompanied by destructive behavior that harms himself or others.

  1. Alarming Numbers

    • According to ABC News, nearly two-thirds of American teenagers admit to having "anger attacks" that involve destroying property that belongs to themselves or others, threatening violence to others or engaging in violent actions. A 2012 Harvard Medical School study determined that 1 in every 12 teens has "intermittent explosive disorder" or explosive, angry outbursts, and that outbursts are three times more common in boys. That 1 in 12 equates to 8 percent of the teen population. At least one-third of the teens admitting to "anger attacks" indicated more than one incident had occurred.

    Intermittent Explosive Disorder

    • This disorder is not characterized by standard teenage emotional drama -- frustration over parental rules and expectations, disappointment when breaking up with a crush or anger because "friends" went out without them. This disorder describes outbursts that lead to physical injury of the teen or of someone else, or destruction of valuable property, according to a piece in "The Boston Globe" that reports on an article in the Archives of General Psychiatry, detailing the disorder. It has been listed as an official diagnosis of a type of impulse control disorder in the American Psychiatric Association's "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual" since 2000. As described in "Psychology Today," a teen qualifies for the diagnosis if he has had three or more "episodes of impulsive aggressiveness" that are "grossly out of proportion" to the surrounding stress factors.

    Brain Development

    • A teen's disposition to anger outbursts is linked to the fact that his brain is not fully developed. As per the Empowering Parents website, the brain is not fully developed until an individual reaches his mid-20s. Even though teens are engaging in grown-up activities such as driving, balancing checking accounts and dating, it remains unrealistic to expect their behavior to completely mimic that of adults.

    Anger Causes Health Trouble

    • That anger outburst from a teen can lay the groundwork for future health problems. The Center for Young Women's Health lists heart disease, high blood pressure, chronic lower back pain and stomach pain as physical ailments resulting from the extra stress anger puts on a body. Mental challenges such as depression, eating problems, substance abuse, addictions, suicidal thoughts and relationship challenges often result from anger outbursts.

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