Pediatric irritability can be highly impairing and is implicated in adverse outcomes. The phasic component, characterized by temper outbursts, is a frequent impetus to seek treatment. This study tested whether a previously described anger-distress model of tantrums applies to an outpatient sample of school-age children with clinically impairing temper outbursts (TO; 5.0–9.9 years; N = 86), and examined the clinical relevance of resulting factors through associations with measures of psychopathology, and differences between children with TO and two groups without: children with ADHD (n = 60) and healthy controls (n = 45). Factor analyses established a three-factor model: High Anger, Low Anger, Distress. These factors had unique associations with measures of irritability, externalizing problems, and internalizing problems in the TO group. Additionally, an interaction between groups and outburst factors emerged. Results provide evidence for the presence and clinical utility of the anger-distress model in children’s outbursts and suggest avenues for future pediatric irritability research.

小儿易怒可能会严重损害并与不良结果有关。以脾气暴躁为特征的阶段性成分是寻求治疗的常见动力。本研究测试了先前描述的发脾气的愤怒-痛苦模型是否适用于临床上脾气暴躁的学龄儿童的门诊样本（TO；5.0-9.9 岁；N = 86），并通过以下方法检查了结果因素的临床相关性与精神病理学测量的关联，以及患有 TO 的儿童和没有患有多动症的儿童 (n = 60) 和健康对照 (n = 45) 的两组之间的差异。因素分析建立了一个三因素模型：高愤怒、低愤怒、痛苦。这些因素与 TO 组中易怒、外化问题和内化问题的测量有独特的关联。此外，出现了群体和爆发因素之间的相互作用。结果为儿童爆发中愤怒-痛苦模型的存在和临床效用提供了证据，并为未来的儿科易怒研究提供了途径。