The Factor Structure of the Aggression Questionnaire With Violent Offenders

Abstract

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.

The Violent Behavior Vignette Questionnaire (VBVQ): A Measure of Violent Behavior for Research in Forensic and Non-Forensic Settings and Populations

“…Though the vignette responses corresponded well with most of the indicators of violent behavior, there was little correspondence with violent offense records among the offender samples. This is not supportive of the construct validity of VBVQ scores and compares negatively with most of the few studies that have tested the association between other self-report and analog measures of aggression and official records of violent offending (e.g., Cherek et al., 1997; Diamond & Magaletta, 2006; Lim et al., 2011; Olver et al., 2014; Pettersen et al., 2018; but see T. Y. Williams et al., 1996).…”

“…Higher scores on the PA-AQ are associated with independent indicators of physical aggressiveness, such as peer ratings of physical aggressiveness ( r = .45, r = .78), history of violent offending ( d = .36, d = .46), and higher rates of violent recidivism ( d = 0.65; Buss & Perry, 1992; Diamond & Magaletta, 2006; O’Connor et al., 2001; Olver et al., 2014). Previous studies report good internal consistency for the PA-AQ in correctional (.73, .92) and non-correctional (.84 - .86) samples (Bryant & Smith, 2001; Buss & Perry, 1992; O’Connor et al., 2001; Olver et al., 2014; Pettersen et al., 2018).…”

Risk relevance of psychometric assessment and evaluator ratings of dynamic risk factors in high‐risk violent offenders

“…For example, meta-analytic data suggest good overall internal consistency: a = .89, total; .81, anger; .79, hostility; .83, physical aggression; and .68, verbal aggression (Babchishin et al, 2011). However, the original fourfactor structure found by Buss and Perry (1992) has generally not been supported in subsequent research with forensic samples (for a review, see Pettersen, Nunes, & Cortoni, 2018); thus, we examined total scores rather than subscales in our analyses.…”

Moderating effects of socio‐ecological factors on the relationship between adolescent exposure to media violence and attitudes towards school bullying

“…The content validity, construct validity, and reliability of the quantitative instruments used in this study were demonstrated when the instruments were developed. The researchers identified that those instruments were valid and reliable in their studies (Bush & Perry, 1992; Kim, 2005; Pettersen, Nunes, & Cortoni, 2018 for aggression; Choi, 2013; Jeong, 2006; Oshio & Kaneko, 2003 for resilience; Jang, 2001; Kim 2008; Straus et al, 1996 for parental violence experience; Arrindell & Engebretsen, 2000; Jo & Hwang, 2012; Lee, 2011 for parenting styles; Yu & Choi for satisfaction with school life; Do, 2007 for teacher attitudes towards school bullying; Do, 2007, 2008 for media violence exposure; and Jang, 2005; Ko & Jeong, 2003 for adolescent attitudes towards school bullying).…”