Road rage diagnosed as mental disorder
June 6, 2006
CHICAGO (AP) -- To you, that angry, horn-blasting tailgater is suffering from road rage. But doctors have another name for it -- intermittent explosive disorder -- and a new study suggests it is far more common than they realized, affecting up to 16 million Americans.
...About 5 percent to 7 percent of the nationally representative sample had had the disorder, which would equal up to 16 million Americans. That is higher than better-known mental illnesses such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, Dr. Coccaro said.
..."It is news to a lot of people even who are specialists in mental health services that such a large proportion of the population has these clinically significant anger attacks," Mr. Kessler said.