Internalized anger, self-control, and mastery experience in inpatient anorexic adolescents

Objectives: To evaluate the implications of internalized anger, self-contro l and experience of mastery for adolescent girls with severe anorexia nervo sa (AN). Methods: Internalized and externalized anger, internal and externa l control, mastery, use of methods for self-control, and severity of anorex ic symptoms were measured by self-report questionnaires in inpatient anorex ic teenagers (N = 26), inpatient female adolescent psychiatric patients (N = 24), and a normal female comparison group (N = 29). Results: Internalized anger was significantly higher in both the anorexic and general psychiatri c patients as compared to normal controls, but this difference was signific ant only for the anorexic patients. Anorexic and general psychiatric patien ts experienced significantly less mastery than normal controls, but again t his difference was significant only in the anorexic group. Within the anore xic group, severity of symptoms correlated significantly with internalized anger, low mastery, and external locus of control, and negative significant correlations among control measures and anger were found. Total length of hospitalization correlated positively with internalized anger only for the anorexics. Conclusion: The findings support the notion that internalized an ger and defective experience of self-control are important factors in the p sychopathology of adolescent anorexic inpatient females The results may hav e implications for the clinical management of patients with severe AN. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.