Tantrum
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A tantrum, angry outburst, temper tantrum, lash out, (autistic) meltdown, fit of anger, or hissy fit is an emotional outburst,[1][2][3] usually associated with those in emotional distress. It is typically characterized by stubbornness, crying, screaming, violence,[4] defiance,[5] angry ranting, a resistance to attempts at pacification, and in some cases, hitting and other physically violent behavior. Physical control may be lost; the person may be unable to remain still; and even if the "goal" of the person is met, they may not be calmed. Throwing a temper tantrum may lead to a child getting detention or being suspended from school for older school age children, and could result in a timeout or grounding, complete with room or corner time, at home.[6][7][8][9][10][11] A tantrum may be expressed in a tirade: a protracted, angry speech.[6][7][12]
In early childhood
Tantrums are one of the most common forms of problematic behavior in young children but tend to decrease in frequency and intensity as the child gets older.[13] For a toddler, tantrums can be considered as normal, and even as gauges of developing strength of character.[14][15][16]
While tantrums are sometimes seen as a predictor of future anti-social behavior,[17] in another sense they are simply an age-appropriate sign of excessive frustration,[18] and will diminish over time given a calm and consistent handling.[19][20][21] Parental containment where a child cannot contain themself—rather than what the child is ostensibly demanding—may be what is really required.[22]
Selma Fraiberg warned against "too much pressure or forceful methods of control from the outside" in child-rearing: "if we turn every instance of pants changing, treasure hunting, napping, puddle wading and garbage distribution into a governmental crisis we can easily bring on fierce defiance, tantrums, and all the fireworks of revolt in the nursery".[23]
Intellectual and developmental disorders
Some people who have developmental disorders such as autism, Asperger syndrome, ADHD, and intellectual disability[24] or even a developmental disability, could be more vulnerable to tantrums than others, although anyone experiencing brain damage (temporary or permanent) can suffer from tantrums.[25] Anyone may be prone to tantrums once in a while, regardless of gender or age.[26][27] However, a meltdown due to sensory overload (which even non-autistic children can experience) is not the same as a temper tantrum.[28]
Aberrations
Freud considered that the Wolf Man's development of temper tantrums was connected with his seduction by his sister: he became "discontented, irritable and violent, took offence on every possible occasion, and then flew into a rage and screamed like a savage".[29] Freud linked the tantrums to an unconscious need for punishment driven by feelings of guilt[30]—something which he thought could be generalised to many other cases of childhood tantrums.[31][32]
Heinz Kohut contended that tantrums were rages of anger, caused by the thwarting of the infant's grandiose-exhibitionist core.[33] The blow to the inflated self-image, when a child's wishes are (however justifiably) refused, creates fury because it strikes at the feeling of omnipotence.[34]
Jealousy over the birth of a sibling, and resulting aggression,[35] may also provoke negativistic tantrums, as the effort at controlling the feelings overloads the child's system of self-regulation.[36][37]
In later life
Writer William Makepeace Thackeray claimed that in later life "you may tell a tantrum as far as you can see one, by the distressed and dissatisfied expression of its countenance—'Tantrumical', if we may term it so".[38]
The willingness of the celebrity to throw tantrums whenever thwarted to the least degree[39] is a kind of acquired situational narcissism[40] or tantrumical behavior.
If older people show tantrums, they might often be signs of immaturity or a mental or developmental disability; and often autistic or ADHD meltdowns are incorrectly labelled tantrums. It can also occur in neurotypical people under extreme stress.[41]
See also
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- Berserker fights in a frenzy
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References
External links
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- ↑ Edmund Bergler in J. Halliday/P. Fuller eds., The Psychology of Gambling (London 1974) p. 182: With "a child confronted with some refusal ... regardless of its justifications, the refusal automatically provokes fury, since it offends his sense of omnipotence".
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- ↑ Cooper Lawrence, The Cult of Celebrity (2009) p. 72
- ↑ Simon Crompton, All About Me (London 2007) p. 176
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