Road rage = intermittent explosive disorder
People think road rage is bad behavior and that you just need an attitude adjustment, but what they don't know is that there's a biology and cognitive science to this. Doctors now have another name for it - intermittent explosive disorder. Road rage, temper outbursts that involve throwing or breaking objects and even spousal abuse can sometimes be attributed to the disorder. According to a recent study, about 5% - 7% of the nationally representative sample had had the disorder, which would equal up to 16 million Americans. That is higher than better-known mental illnesses such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
Source: Archives of General Psychiatry, June, 2006.
Labels: Funny Statistics
posted by Life Records at 6/08/2006
5 Comments:
I was enjoying your comments until you mentioned Americans. Presumably you think that statistics do not apply to those of us who live in that little place just around the corner from you (called the rest of the world, not your own backyard). Or maybe Americans are genetically coded to be blind to everyone else. I feel sure you will have some all american statistic on that subject!
Pierre
6:41 PM
Have you ever experienced blog rage? Scary.
7:44 PM
Whatever. TIME is of the essence.
8:07 PM
There are three types of people in the world: those who understand statistics and those who don't.
2:59 AM
I enjoyed this piece. I've lived in many of the nation's "road rage capitals" and seen this behavior overseas. My friends and I call it "poor impulse control" or going "blood simple". I don't agree with it being "genetic" but there is that factor. Environment plays a big part. Everyone has a threshold, and under the right conditions, the average person will "lose it". You see it every day. It's called the Evening News.
10:16 AM
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