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Tantrum

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For other uses, see Tantrum (disambiguation).
Christina Rossetti in a Tantrum

A tantrum, temper tantrum, or hissy fit is an emotional outburst, usually associated with those in emotional distress, that is typically characterized by stubbornness, crying, screaming, violence, defiance, 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.[1][2][3][4][5][6] A tantrum may be expressed in a tirade: a protracted, angry speech.[1][2][7]

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 grows older. For the toddler, tantrums can be considered as normal, even as gauges of developing strength of character.[8][9][10]

Child having a tantrum

While tantrums are sometimes seen as a predictor of future anti-social behaviour,[11] in another sense they are simply an age-appropriate sign of excessive frustration[12], and will diminish over time given a calm and consistent handling.[13][14][15] Parental containment where a child cannot contain itself—rather than what the child is ostensibly demanding—may be what is really required.[16]

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".[17]

Intellectual and developmental disorders

Some people who have developmental disorders such as autism[18], ADHD, and intellectual disability could be more vulnerable to tantrums than others, although anyone experiencing brain damage (temporary or permanent) can suffer from tantrums. Anyone may be prone to tantrums once in a while, regardless of gender or age.[19][20]However, a meltdown due to sensory overload (which even neurotypical children can experience) is not the same as a temper tantrum.[21]

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".[22] Freud linked the tantrums to an unconscious need for punishment driven by feelings of guilt[23]—something which he thought could be generalised to many other cases of childhood tantrums.[24]

Heinz Kohut contended that tantrums were narcissistic rages,[25] caused by the thwarting of the infant's grandiose-exhibitionist core. 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.[26]

Jealousy over the birth of a sibling, and resulting aggression, may also provoke negativistic tantrums, as the effort at controlling the feelings overloads the child's system of self-regulation.[27][28]

In later life

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".[29]

Heinz Kohut contended that "the infant's core is likely to contain a self-centred, grandiose-exhibitionist part", and that "tantrums at being frustrated thus represent narcissistic rages"[25] at the blow to the inflated self-image. With "a child confronted with some refusal ... regardless of its justifications, the refusal automatically provokes fury, since it offends his sense of omnipotence".[26]

The willingness of the celebrity to throw tantrums whenever thwarted to the least degree[30] is a kind of Acquired Situational Narcissism[31] or tantrumical behavior.

If tantrums are shown by older people they might often be signs of immaturity and a mental disability; however, many people can have them under extreme stress.[32]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "What is a tantrum?". Babycentre.co.uk. Retrieved 2011-03-20.
  2. ^ a b "Temper Tantrums". Kidshealth.org. Retrieved 2011-03-20.
  3. ^ "Tantrums". BabyCenter. Retrieved 2011-03-20.
  4. ^ "When a Child Has a Tantrum – The Natural Child Project". Naturalchild.org. Retrieved 2011-03-20.
  5. ^ Mullen, J.K. (1983). "Understanding and managing the temper tantrum". Child Care Quarterly. 12 (1): 59–70. doi:10.1007/BF01258080.
  6. ^ E.R., Geelerd (1945). "Observations on temper tantrums in children". American Journal of Orthopsychiatry. 15 (2): 238–246. doi:10.1111/j.1939-0025.1945.tb04937.x.
  7. ^ Daniels, Mandleco, E. Luthy, Elizabeth, Barbara, Karlen (2012). "Assessment, management, and prevention of childhood temper tantrums". Journal of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners. 24 (10): 569–573. doi:10.1111/j.1745-7599.2012.00755.x. PMID 23006014.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  8. ^ Robin Skynner/John Cleese, Families and how to survive them (London 1993) p. 177
  9. ^ S., Isaacs (1940). "Temper tantrums in early childhood in their relation to internal objects". The International Journal of Psychoanalysis. 21: 280–293.
  10. ^ A, Solter (1992). "Understanding Tears and Tantrums". Young Children. 47(4): 64–68 – via ISSN 00440728.
  11. ^ Potegal, Michael, L.P.; Davidson, Richard J. (June 2003). "Temper Tantrums in Young Children". Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics. 24 (3): 140–147. doi:10.1097/00004703-200306000-00002.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  12. ^ J.A., P.G., M., Green, Whitney, Potegal (2011). "Screaming, yelling, whining, and crying: Categorical and intensity differences in vocal expressions of anger and sadness in children's tantrums". Emotion. 11 (5): 1124–1133. doi:10.1037/a0024173. PMC 3192404. PMID 21707157.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  13. ^ Roy Benaroch, Solving Health and Behavioral Problems from Birth Through Preschool (2008) p. 157
  14. ^ C.B., Kopp (1989). "Regulation of distress and negative emotions: A developmental view". Developmental Psychology. 25 (3): 343–354. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.25.3.343.
  15. ^ Levine, Linda (1995). "Young Children's Understanding of the Causes of Anger and Sadness". Child Development. 66 (3): 967–709. JSTOR 1131944.
  16. ^ Patrick Casement, Further Learning from the Patient (London 1990) p. 113-4
  17. ^ Selma H. Fraiberg, The Magic Years (New York 1987), p. 65
  18. ^ P.J., Margolies (1977). "Behavioral approaches to the treatment of early infantile autism: A review". Psychological Bulletin. 84 (2): 249–264. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.84.2.249.
  19. ^ "Temper Tantrums and Autism - LoveToKnow". Retrieved 25 March 2018.
  20. ^ Osterman, Bjorkqvist, Karin, Kaj (April 1, 2010). "A Cross-Sectional Study of Onset, Cessation, Frequency, and Duration of Children's Temper Tantrums in a Nonclinical Sample". Psychological Reports. 106 (2): 448–454. doi:10.2466/pr0.106.2 (inactive 2019-08-20).{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of August 2019 (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  21. ^ Bennie, Maureen (2 February 2016). "Tantrum vs Autistic Meltdown: What Is The Difference?". Autism Awareness. Autism Awareness Centre Inc. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  22. ^ Sigmund Freud, Case Histories II (PFL 9) p. 242
  23. ^ Freud, p. 257
  24. ^ Sigmund Freud, Case Histories II (PFL 9) p. 257-8 and p. 242
  25. ^ a b H. and I. Goldenberg, Family Therapy (2007) p. 172
  26. ^ a b Edmund Bergler in J. Halliday/P. Fuller eds., The Psychology of Gambling (London 1974) p. 182
  27. ^ Selma H. Fraiberg, The Magic Years (New York 1987) p. 152
  28. ^ Tracy, A. Dennis (2006). "Emotional self-regulation in preschoolers: The interplay approach reactivity, and control capacities". Developmental Psychology. 42 (1): 84–97. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.42.1.84. PMID 16420120.
  29. ^ William Makepeace Thackeray, The Irish Sketch Book (1848) p. 138
  30. ^ Cooper Lawrence, The Cult of Celebrity (2009) p. 72
  31. ^ Simon Crompton, All about Me (London 2007) p. 176
  32. ^ "North Jersey". North Jersey. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
  • The dictionary definition of tantrum at Wiktionary
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