DEVELOPMENT OF THE MULTIDIMENSIONAL SCHOOL ANGER INVENTORY FOR MALES

Drawing upon research which conceptualizes anger as a multidimensional construct including three associated components-anger experience (aff ective anger), hostility (anger cognitions), and anger expression (agg ression, assertion, and withdrawal)-the preliminary development of a M ultidimensional School Anger Inventory (MSAI) for adolescents is descr ibed. This scale is a modification and extension of the School Anger I nventory and was developed to assess the affective, cognitive, and exp ressive aspects of anger using items having school-relevant content. D ata were collected through personal interviews of 202 males from three different schools: School 1 included general education students in a parochial school in grades 6 through 12; School 2 included students at tending general education or mainstreamed special education classes at a public intermediate school; and School 3 included students particip ating in a public day treatment program for youths with serious emotio nal disturbance. Scale development is discussed focusing on item devel opment and scale refinement through item and factor analyses. Four fac tors were identified that accounted for 43.3% of the common variance. Anger Experience, Cynical Attitudes, and Anger Expression were identif ied as major clusters with the anger expression items bifurcating into Destructive Expression and Positive Coping components. The resulting 31-item scare has strong psychometric qualities and appears to have pr omise for use in research, treatment planning, and outcome evaluations . (C) 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.