ASSESSING ANGER EXPRESSION IN CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS

Anger expression styles are associated with psychological and physical well-being among adults. Little is known about the role of anger expr ession in children's functioning. This lack of knowledge has resulted, in part, from a lack of validated tools for anger expression measurem ent. The Pediatric Anger Expression Scale-3rd edition (PAES-III; Jacob s, Phelps, & Rohrs, 1989; Jacobs & Kronaizl, 1991) has been proposed a s a reliable and valid assessment instrument of anger expression style s. The PAES-III includes three scales that measure anger turned inward , anger expressed outwardly, and anger controlled cognitively or behav iorally. We evaluated the psychometric properties of this instrument w hen it is administered verbally to children with juvenile rheumatoid a rthritis, children with juvenile diabetes mellitus, and healthy childr en. Internal consistency was adequate for anger-in and anger-out, but marginal for anger-control. Concurrent validity was supported for the total sample. A principal components analysis suggested a four-factor model of anger expression. Overall, the PAES-III was found to have psy chometric limitations. Use of a modified PAES-III may facilitate pedia tric behavioral medicine research addressing risk factors maladjustmen t among children with chronic illnesses.