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

The Williams LifeSkills® (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 six-month follow-up period compared to the CTL group (group x visit, 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.