Anger is an emotion. Like other emotions, anger is neither good nor bad of itself. Yet because many people express anger in violent ways, anger has come to be viewed as a negative emotion. Learning how to express anger in positive ways is a sign of healthy and productive living. Positive strategies in this area are especially important today for adolescent males.

Today, violence among this age group and gender is at dangerous proportions. In the past 30 years, juvenile arrest rates for violent crimes have increased by nearly 300 percent. Arrest rates for males peak at age 16 and decline thereafter. Violence against oneself is also increasing among adolescents. Suicide is the second or third leading cause of death among teenagers in any given year (accidents are first; homicides are either second or third). From a developmental sense, these figures are not totally surprising: adolescence is a stage where males are attempting to prove themselves as men. Without positive male role models available to show productive ways of dealing with anger and channeling aggressive tendencies, the incidents and degrees of violence perpetrated by adolescents are likely to increase. Additionally, it is important to realise that violent crime is almost exclusively a male problem. Males make up over 90 percent of the prison population in the Australia and commit violent crime at 20 times the rate of females. The ability to deal positively with anger and channel aggressive energy in constructive rather than destructive ways are tasks an adolescent male must master if he is to become a mature man.

There are a variety of strategies for dealing with anger. This session explores the responses of aggression, passivity and assertion. Dealing with anger involves understanding aggressive energy, being able to talk about it, and being able to channel it well. This session is not merely about curbing aggressive impulses; it is also about learning to act assertively and express strength creatively rather than violently.