Impact of Williams LifeSkills® training on anger, anxiety, and ambulatory blood pressure in adolescents

The Williams LifeSkills (R) (WLS) anger and stress management workshop provides training in strategies to cope with stressful situations and build supportive relationships. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of school-based Williams LifeSkills training on anger, anxiety, and blood pressure in adolescents. One hundred fifty-nine adolescents (mean age +/- SD = 15.7 +/- 1.4 years) were randomized to WLS (n = 86) or control (CTL, n = 73) groups. The WLS group engaged in twelve 50-min WLS training sessions conducted by teachers at school. Anger-in and anxiety scores decreased and anger-control scores increased in the WLS group across the sixmonth follow-up period compared to the CTL group (group xvisit, ps < 0.05). Daytime diastolic BP was lower across the follow-up in the WLS group (p = 0.08). DBP was significantly lower across the follow-up period in the WLS group among those with higher SBP at baseline (p = 0.04). These findings demonstrate beneficial impact of WLS upon self-reported anger-in, anger control, anxiety levels, and ambulatory DBP in the natural environment in healthy normotensive youth.