Background: Phasic irritability, expressed through temper outbursts, is a common cause of seeking help for adolescents with behavioural problems (i.e., externalizing problems). Previous studies have investigated this phenomenon from a quantitative perspective, leaving the subjective lived experiences largely unexplored.
Objective: This qualitative study, thus, aims to explore the adolescent’s experience (e.g., time course, attribution, related processes, individual and environmental factors) of an episode of phasic irritability (i.e., moments of temper loss, rage attacks, or tantrums).
Methods: We performed structured interviews on 14 male adolescents aged between 12 and 17 years with externalizing symptoms who reported about their perceived most extreme phasic irritability episode. A content and thematic analysis was performed to describe the experiences of an episode of phasic irritability from the narratives provided by the adolescents.
Results: Phasic irritability occurred mostly in a familial or school context in the presence of others (e.g., family members or peers). The time course of anger enhanced by the appraisal of injustice and inappropriate emotional regulation strategies promoted the triggering of an episode of phasic irritability. Phasic irritability mainly manifested verbally first and was then susceptible to escalate into physical aggression. It was also observed that diminished mental resources (e.g., fatigue, insomnia, tension, conflicts) and/or a negative mindset seemed to increase the likelihood of phasic irritability.
Conclusions: This qualitative study contributes to advance the insight into intrapersonal processes linked to phasic irritability, its time course and related contributing factors, and the individual experience perceived by adolescents with externalizing symptoms. It also shows how individual and situational factors articulate in triggering phasic irritability. Our findings contribute to identify specific intervention targets to prevent phasic irritability in adolescents with externalizing symptoms.