Age mellows Men but women stay angry, says study

Grumpy old men, exemplified by the moaning Victor Meldrew, are a myth, new research suggests today.

In fact men tend to mellow out as they get older, according to psychologists. Both young and old women, on the other hand, get equally cross, the study shows.

Researcher Jane Barnett, from the University of Middlesex, led a team who looked at 52 men and 101 women aged 18 to 60.

Participants were asked to rate a series of situations on an “anger intensity” scale of one to four.

They were split into three age groups – 18 to 25, 26 to 40 and 41 to 60.

The team found that – contrary to popular belief – men expressed more anger when they were young than when they were older.

Ms Barnett, who presented her findings at the British Psychological Society’s annual meeting at the University of Manchester, said: “Men were reporting quite high levels of anger early on, but as they got to middle age it dissipated and levelled off.

“The concept of grumpy old men could be a myth. It seems that Victor Meldrew’s are the exception rather than the rule.” Meldrew is the constantly complaining pensioner in the TV comedy One Foot in the Grave.

It was possible that as they got older men felt less of a need to conform to a “masculine stereotype” which involved getting angry, said the researchers.

Women’s levels of self-reported anger stayed roughly the same throughout their age range.

Their ability to get angry was if anything higher than men’s, said Ms Barnett. They were more easily angered over a range of situations.

But she pointed out that the women could have been confusing anger and assertiveness.

“Women are becoming more assertive, and less likely to put up with people treating them badly,” she said. “But there’s still this traditional idea that women shouldn’t express their anger."

The study looked at three different kinds of anger scenario.

One involved “unattainable goals”, such as buying an appliance that does not work. Another was “environmental”, for instance when a stranger bumps into you without apologising. The third was “interpersonal”, as when talking to a good friend who does not listen.

Women tended to be more angered by interpersonal events and men by environmental. One surprising finding was that unattainable goals seemed to anger both men and women equally.

There was evidence that women were more in touch with their emotions when it came to anger, said Ms Barnett.

Men tended to describe anger as a “flood” or “force” while women often adopted cooking metaphors such as “bubbling” or “simmering”.

She added: “I don’t perceive anger as necessarily a negative emotion. It can help you to express yourself when you’re not happy.

“Past research has shown that both suppressing anger and expressing it too much are bad for your health. It’s the way that you control your anger that matters.”

She said her ultimate aim was to develop a new form of anger management that took into account the differences between men and women.