Effects of behavioral inhibition/activation systems on anger rumination and anger expression through Difficulty in Emotion Regulation

Behavioral Inhibition and Activation Systems (BIS/BAS) are consistently associated with internalizing and
externalizing disorders, respectively. Anger rumination is thought to be linked to internalizing disorders while
anger expression demonstrates an association with externalizing disorders. Despite these theoretical associations,
there is a dearth of studies examining the relationships between these constructs. The current cross-sectional
study aimed to test indirect effects of BIS/BAS through a Difficulty in Emotion Regulation (DER) on anger in
a group of college students (n = 211). Analysis showed a positive relationship between BIS and anger rumination
and between BAS and anger expression. Further analysis showed an indirect effect of BIS on anger rumination
through DER. Although BAS had direct effect on anger expression, our analysis found no indirect effect of BAS on
anger expression. Potential limitations and directions for future research are discussed.