Associations and mechanisms between childhood adversity and irritability or trait anger across the lifespan: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Childhood adversity (CA) is a robust predictor of psychopathology later in life and has been linked to numerous transdiagnostic symptom presentations. One such presentation, irritability, has garnered increasing interest given its presence across internalizing and externalizing disorders and associations with greater functional impairment. Preliminary work has demonstrated associations between CA and irritability; however, no systematic review or meta-analysis has examined these associations or the mechanisms by which these constructs are connected.
PubMed, PsycInfo, and Web of Science were searched from inception to October 2025, for empirical English articles published in peer-reviewed journals that included measures of CA and irritability (or trait anger, a closely related construct) and examined their statistical relationship. All procedures used in this review were consistent with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines.
A total of 1839 abstracts were screened, resulting in 208 articles reviewed and 109 articles ultimately included. Random-effects meta-analysis identified a positive relationship between CA and irritability or trait anger in association (pooled association r = 0.22, 95% CI [0.19-0.24]) and group comparison (Hedges' g = 0.53, 95% CI [0.35-0.71]) studies across the lifespan. Additionally, the review identified concurrently measured psychological (i.e., emotion dysregulation, narcissism, shame, adult attachment) variables that statistically mediated the relationship between CA and irritability or anger.
Findings support robust associations between early adversity and irritability or trait anger across the lifespan. Limitations and suggestions for future empirical studies are discussed.
PubMed, PsycInfo, and Web of Science were searched from inception to October 2025, for empirical English articles published in peer-reviewed journals that included measures of CA and irritability (or trait anger, a closely related construct) and examined their statistical relationship. All procedures used in this review were consistent with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines.
A total of 1839 abstracts were screened, resulting in 208 articles reviewed and 109 articles ultimately included. Random-effects meta-analysis identified a positive relationship between CA and irritability or trait anger in association (pooled association r = 0.22, 95% CI [0.19-0.24]) and group comparison (Hedges' g = 0.53, 95% CI [0.35-0.71]) studies across the lifespan. Additionally, the review identified concurrently measured psychological (i.e., emotion dysregulation, narcissism, shame, adult attachment) variables that statistically mediated the relationship between CA and irritability or anger.
Findings support robust associations between early adversity and irritability or trait anger across the lifespan. Limitations and suggestions for future empirical studies are discussed.
Authors
Spaulding Spaulding, Yang Yang, Cotter Cotter, Duran Duran, Kathman Kathman, Stein Stein, Taylor Taylor, Wiggins Wiggins
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