Development of an Anger Scale for Children and Adolescents and Examination of Its Reliability and Validity

Abstract

The purposes of the present study were to develop the Anger Scale for Children and Adolescents (ASCA),which was designed to measure the respondents' self-reported anger, and to investigate and evaluate the reliability and validity of the Anger Scale, based on COSMIN (COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments).A sample of 1,088 children and adolescents completed questionnaires. The results suggest that the Anger Scale for Children and Adolescents has adequate reliability and moderate validity. Additionally, the boys and older respondents reported experiencing anger more often than the girls and younger respondents did. A series of analyses using item response theory revealed that the Anger Scale for Children and Adolescents had good measurement accuracy in those children and adolescents who reported experiencing moderate to severe levels of anger. The applicability of the Anger Scale for Children and Adolescents in cognitive behavioral practice with young clients experiencing severe anger, limitations of the present study, and direction for future research were discussed.