“It Was Like They'd Lit a Fuse”: A Mixed‐Methods Investigation Into Rage

ABSTRACT

Impulsive acts of violence are perpetrated by a small proportion of society, which anecdotal evidence suggests often occurs in a rage state. Rage has generally been conceptualized as extreme anger, but it may be qualitatively different from extreme anger. Is rage best considered as part of the anger continuum or is it a different phenomenon altogether? The present research addressed this question in a large sample of university students ( N  = 545) who completed qualitative and quantitative measures of rage attacks, anger, emotional dysregulation, trait aggression and displaced aggression, angry rumination, adverse childhood events, head injuries, drug and alcohol use, and borderline personality disorder traits. Qualitative results showed that rage experiences are similar to anger experiences, but with some unique components. Path analysis found a similar pattern of correlates for rage and anger. Emotion dysregulation, trait physical aggression, trait displaced aggression, and borderline personality disorder traits predicted both rage and anger. Finally, in a latent profile analysis, we identified two subgroups of participants who are at risk for rage and anger. These findings largely support rage as a type of extreme anger with some additional features (e.g., loss of control, tunnel vision, aggression). Targeting the dysregulated aspects of people's personalities as early as possible may assist in reducing anger and rage.