Deidentified data and R code for paper: Revenge thinking in anger rumination and emotion dysregulation

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Deidentified data and R code relating to study about anger rumination in emerging adulthood (18-25 years) is a key period for examining anger regulation, as emotion regulation is still consolidating. Identifying processes that sustain anger during this period may inform early prevention before anger-related difficulties become persistent and detrimental to functioning during this crucial life stage. Anger rumination is a prominent correlate of anger, hostility and aggressive behaviour, yet little is known about whether its subcomponents differentially maintain anger and emotion dysregulation. Using temporal network analysis, this longitudinal study examined the dynamic associations among anger rumination subcomponents (revenge thinking, angry afterthoughts, angry memories, anger causes) and emotion regulation difficulties. Participants were 376 Australian emerging adults (M age=21.44; SD age=2.33; 62.6% female). Data were collected across three waves at two-month intervals. Models were estimated with and without controlling for sex. Results revealed that revenge thinking occupied a uniquely central position within the anger system, predicting subsequent increases in all other anger rumination dimensions and emotion regulation difficulties, particularly after controlling for sex, suggesting that this effect was robust to sex-related differences. A reciprocal association between emotion regulation difficulties and angry afterthoughts also emerged consistently across both models. Findings provide a more precise account of anger maintenance, suggesting that revenge thinking may play a central role in the anger rumination-emotion dysregulation system. In this non-clinical emerging adult sample, results may inform psychoeducation and early prevention by highlighting revenge-related cognitions and angry afterthoughts as potentially self-maintaining anger processes, while requiring replication in clinical or high-risk samples before treatment implications are drawn.