ANGER-RELATED TRAITS AND RESPONSE TO INTERPERSONAL CONFLICT AMONG NEW-YORK-CITY TRAFFIC AGENTS

This study evaluates the psychosocial correlates of anger-related trai ts. Participants include New York City traffic enforcement agents (TEA s), who issue summonses for vehicular and parking violations and are f requently confronted by angry motorists. This sample of TEAs is 53% Af rican American and 57% female. Participants completed surveys at 2 poi nts, 4 months apart, which measured attitudinal, affective, and expres sive components of hostility and anger, as well as dimensions of workp lace psychosocial response. Results indicate that trait anger-in was p ositively associated with frequency of conflict, anger intensity, and burnout in cross-sectional analyses; and positively associated with fr equency of conflict in prospective analyses. Trait anger was positivel y associated with an increase in burnout over a 4-month period. These findings provide support for the transactional model of hostility and health and have implications for worksite interventions promoting card iovascular health.