The Factor Structure of the Aggression Questionnaire With Violent Offenders

Author(s):  
Cathrine Pettersen ◽  
Kevin L. Nunes ◽  
Franca Cortoni

The Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire (AQ) is a self-report measure of aggressiveness commonly employed in nonforensic and forensic settings and is included in violent offender pre- and posttreatment assessment batteries. The aim of the current study was to assess the fit of the four-factor model of the AQ with violent offenders ( N = 271), a population for which the factor structure of the English version of the AQ has not previously been examined. Confirmatory factor analyses did not yield support for the four-factor model of the original 29-item AQ. Acceptable fit was obtained with the 12-item short form, but careful examination of the relationships between the latent factors revealed that the four subscales of the AQ may not represent distinct aspects of aggressiveness. Our findings call into question whether the AQ optimally measures trait aggressiveness among violent offenders.

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 225-246
Author(s):  
Máté Kapitány-Fövény ◽  
Róbert Urbán ◽  
Gábor Varga ◽  
Marc N. Potenza ◽  
Mark D. Griffiths ◽  
...  

AbstractBackground and aimsDue to its important role in both healthy groups and those with physical, mental and behavioral disorders, impulsivity is a widely researched construct. Among various self-report questionnaires of impulsivity, the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale is arguably the most frequently used measure. Despite its international use, inconsistencies in the suggested factor structure of its latest version, the BIS-11, have been observed repeatedly in different samples. The goal of the present study was therefore to test the factor structure of the BIS-11 in several samples.MethodsExploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted on two representative samples of Hungarian adults (N = 2,457; N = 2,040) and a college sample (N = 765).ResultsAnalyses did not confirm the original model of the measure in any of the samples. Based on explorative factor analyses, an alternative three-factor model (cognitive impulsivity; behavioral impulsivity; and impatience/restlessness) of the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale is suggested. The pattern of the associations between the three factors and aggression, exercise, smoking, alcohol use, and psychological distress supports the construct validity of this new model.DiscussionThe new measurement model of impulsivity was confirmed in two independent samples. However, it requires further cross-cultural validation to clarify the content of self-reported impulsivity in both clinical and nonclinical samples.


2001 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 36-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
D.J.W. Strümpfer

A rationale for using a projective approach, in addition to self-reports, is presented. A resilience exercise is described, consisting of 6 sentences describing adverse situations, in response to which participants write projective stories. A scoring scheme for such stories is introduced. 152 adults ( Mage = 34.28, SD = 9.15; Meduc = 14.55, SD = 2.31) working in organizations, completed the exercise and self-report scales. On the basis of initial scoring by two judges, the scoring scheme was revised to clarify some instructions. On a new sample of 20 protocols a 0.87 agreement between two judges was obtained. One judge then re-scored all protocols on the revised manual. A word count per protocol correlated 0.54 ( p < 0.000) with the total score. Scores per story and scores per scoring category, were corrected for word count, using a regression procedure. The 6 stories all loaded on a single resilience factor. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses showed a 2-factor model to fit the data best, producing factors which measured abstract and concrete aspects. The total resilience score correlated 0.26 ( p < 0.001) with Antonovsky's Sense of Coherence scale (short form) and 0.21 ( p < 0.01) with Diener's Satisfaction with Life scale.


Assessment ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 24 (8) ◽  
pp. 1062-1079 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hailey L. Dotterer ◽  
Rebecca Waller ◽  
Craig S. Neumann ◽  
Daniel S. Shaw ◽  
Erika E. Forbes ◽  
...  

Psychopathy refers to a range of complex behaviors and personality traits, including callousness and antisocial behavior, typically studied in criminal populations. Recent studies have used self-reports to examine psychopathic traits among noncriminal samples. The goal of the current study was to examine the underlying factor structure of the Self-Report of Psychopathy Scale–Short Form (SRP-SF) across complementary samples and examine the impact of gender on factor structure. We examined the structure of the SRP-SF among 2,554 young adults from three undergraduate samples and a high-risk young adult sample. Using confirmatory factor analysis, a four-correlated factor model and a four-bifactor model showed good fit to the data. Evidence of weak invariance was found for both models across gender. These findings highlight that the SRP-SF is a useful measure of low-level psychopathic traits in noncriminal samples, although the underlying factor structure may not fully translate across men and women.


2014 ◽  
Vol 114 (2) ◽  
pp. 326-340 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guillaume Martinent ◽  
Jean-Claude Decret ◽  
Edith Filaire ◽  
Sandrine Isoard-Gautheur ◽  
Claude Ferrand

This study used confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) among a sample of young French table tennis players to test: (a) original 19-factor structure, (b) 14-factor structure recently suggested in literature, and (c) hierarchical factor structure of the Recovery-Stress Questionnaire for Athletes (RESTQ–Sport). 148 table tennis players completed the RESTQ–Sport and other self-report questionnaires between one to five occasions with a delay of 1 mo. between each completion. Results of CFAs showed: (a) evidence for relative superiority of the original model in comparison to an alternative model recently proposed in literature, (b) a good fit of the data for the 67-item 17-factor model of the RESTQ–Sport, and (c) an acceptable fit of the data for the hierarchical model of the RESTQ–Sport. Correlations between RESTQ–Sport subscales and burnout and motivation subscales also provided evidence for criterion-related validity of the RESTQ–Sport. This study provided support for reliability and validity of the RESTQ–Sport.


2005 ◽  
Vol 32 (5) ◽  
pp. 546-564 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pamela M. Diamond ◽  
Eugene W. Wang ◽  
Jacqueline Buffington-Vollum

Because of the rising frequency and severity of violence in prison populations, quick and accurate screening of aggressiveness is vital. The Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire (BPAQ) is a 29-item self-report measure of aggression. Bryant and Smith proposed a refined 12-item, four-factor version with superior psychometric qualities; however, Williams, Boyd, Cascardi, and Poythress found a different factor structure among jail detainees than is usually found with nonoffenders. The current study used confirmatory factor analyses with data from mentally ill male offenders in a state prison to examine several previously proposed models for the BPAQ. Results confirmed the four-factor structure, the factorial invariance across populations, and supported the use of a modified 12-item refined BPAQ with this prison population.


2020 ◽  
pp. 216770262095152
Author(s):  
Philipp Riedel ◽  
William P. Horan ◽  
Junghee Lee ◽  
Gerhard S. Hellemann ◽  
Michael F. Green

Social cognition has become a major focus in psychosis research aimed at explaining heterogeneity in functional outcome and developing interventions oriented to functional recovery. However, there is still no consensus on the structure of social cognition in psychosis, and research in this area has been plagued by lack of replication. Our first goal was to replicate the factor structure of social cognition using nearly identical tasks in independent samples. Our second goal was to externally validate the factors as they relate to nonsocial cognition and various symptoms in the prediction of functioning using machine learning. Confirmatory factor analyses validated a three-factor model for social cognition in psychosis (low-level, high-level, attributional bias factor). A least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression and cross-validation provided evidence for external validity of data-driven linear models including the social-cognitive factors, nonsocial cognition, and symptoms. We addressed the replicability problems that have impeded research in this area, and our results will guide future psychosis studies.


2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 201-217
Author(s):  
Leilani A. Madrigal ◽  
Vincenzo Roma ◽  
Todd Caze ◽  
Arthur Maerlender ◽  
Debra Hope

This study aimed to provide further psychometric validation of the Sport Anxiety Scale-2 (SAS-2) by assessing the factor structure, invariance across gender, and convergent and divergent validity of the SAS-2 by correlating both related (i.e., anxiety sensitivity, brief fear of negative evaluation, intolerance of uncertainty, and negative affect) and unrelated constructs (i.e., positive affect, self-confidence). A total of 542 current and former competitive athletes completed a questionnaire through Amazon’s Mechanical Turk system. All data were collected via online survey. Participants were randomly assigned to an exploratory factor analysis (n = 271) and confirmatory factor analysis group (n = 271). Results indicated that both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses supported the three-factor model of anxiety involving somatic anxiety, worry, and concentration disruption. Additionally, this study found the SAS-2 to be reliable, gender invariant, and have strong construct validity. Our findings extend the generalizability of the SAS-2 in more varied populations of athletic backgrounds.


2003 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 54-65 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Fossati ◽  
Cesare Maffei ◽  
Elena Acquarini ◽  
Antonella Di Ceglie

Summary Multisample confirmatory factor analyses were carried out in samples of Italian university and high school students in order to assess the replicability of the factor structure in the Italian version of the Aggression Questionnaire by Buss and Perry. Item-level multiple-group component analysis confirmed Buss and Perry's 4-factor structure of the Aggression Questionnaire items in both samples. The results of multisample maximum likelihood confirmatory factor analysis of scale scores supported the hypothesis of single aggression latent dimension underlying the four Aggression Questionnaire scales, the structure of which was invariant across the two samples.


2016 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 175-181 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaopeng Gong ◽  
Sharon E. Paulson

The current study examined the factor structure of the Schutte Self-Report Emotional Intelligence (SSREI) scale with an American college sample ( n = 404, 322 females, 88.9% Whites). Data were collected through an online survey, and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to test several proposed factor models from previous studies. The results showed that the Ng et al. two-level factor model fit the current data best. Implications of the study and the usefulness of SSREI scale among American students were discussed.


Psico-USF ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 259-272 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monalisa Muniz ◽  
Cristiano Mauro Assis Gomes ◽  
Sonia Regina Pasian

Abstract This study's objective was to verify the factor structure of Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices (CPM). The database used included the responses of 1,279 children, 50.2% of which were males with an average age of 8.48 years old and a standard deviation of 1.49 yrs. Confirmatory factor analyses were run to test seven models based on CPM theory and on a Brazilian study addressing the test's structure. The results did not confirm the CPM theoretical proposition concerning the scales but indicated that the test can be interpreted by one general factor and one specific factor or one general factor and three specific factors; both are bi-dimensional models. The three-factor model is, however, more interpretable, suggesting that the factors can be used as a means of screening children's cognitive developmental stage.


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