AngerManagement.docVIP

PAGE  1.8.PAGE 7 NCGE 04/08 Section 1 Anger Management Learning to control anger is a developmental skill. The frontal cortex which is the part of the brain that controls the ability to inhibit impulses takes twenty three years to develop fully. From a developmental perspective younger children display no ability to control their anger and aggression. The typical two year old will act out all their anger. They have no ability to control their impulses – “I want it and I want it now and if I can’t have it I will fight for it”. Children at this stage will hit out, kick and bite. Gradually by the time they reach school age most children can control their impulses. By the end of primary school children can delay their angry impulses and fight at times when there is no adults to prevent them, for example - pick a fight outside the gate of the school. The form of aggression is different, usually limited to punches confined to the upper body and ribs. As we move into adolescence we need to remember the pressures and the behavioural imperatives of this transitional stage. At secondary level adolescents channel most of their aggressive impulses into games or competition, they either diffuse this destructive energy in sport themselves or by watching others compete. Peer pressure, the need to conform, and the search for identity may result in risk-taking and challenging behaviours. Fighting in this age group is usually gang related. However, there are exceptions where you will see a twelve year old behaving like the two year old – acting out all their aggressive impulses and having a temper tantrum. This is a child who has never learned how to control this impulse. This student has “lost it” when you observe the tantrum. He/she is unable to hear anything you are saying and is unable to stop themselves. What motivates students to act out in an angry or aggressive manner? There are four main reasons why people act in an aggressive manner: fear that som