How loss affects anger and alienates potential supporters.

Abstract

The effects of loss of resources and illness symptoms on experienced anger, anger expression, and supporter's anger was studied among patients with severe chronic breathing disorder. Both illness symptoms and resource loss were related to greater anger. Angry feelings, in turn, led to more angry behavior. This angry behavior, in turn, resulted in increased anger of supporters. This process illustrates how chronic stress depletes both personal resources and social resources, making the individual increasingly vulnerable to further stressful experiences, inevitably to be confronted in chronic stress sequences.