Evaluation of the dimensions of anger reactions-5 (DAR-5) scale in combat veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder

David Forbes; Nathan Alkemade; Dale Hopcraft; Graeme Hawthorne; Paul O'Halloran; Jon D Elhai; Tony McHugh; Glen Bates; Raymond W Novaco; Richard Bryant; Virginia Lewis

doi:10.1016/j.janxdis.2014.09.015

Evaluation of the dimensions of anger reactions-5 (DAR-5) scale in combat veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder

J Anxiety Disord. 2014 Dec;28(8):830-5. doi: 10.1016/j.janxdis.2014.09.015. Epub 2014 Oct 5.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Australian Centre for Posttraumatic Mental Health and Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia. Electronic address: dforbes@unimelb.edu.au.
² Australian Centre for Posttraumatic Mental Health and Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
³ School of Public Health, La Trobe University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
⁴ Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
⁵ Department of Psychology, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH, USA.
⁶ Veterans' Psychiatry Unit, Austin Health, Heidelberg, VIC, Australia.
⁷ Swinburne University of Technology, Faculty of Life and Social Sciences, Hawthorn, VIC, Australia.
⁸ Department of Psychology and Social Behavior, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.
⁹ School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
¹⁰ Australian Centre for Posttraumatic Mental Health and Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia; Australian Institute for Primary Care & Ageing, La Trobe University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.

PMID: 25445072
DOI: 10.1016/j.janxdis.2014.09.015

Abstract

After a traumatic event many people experience problems with anger which not only results in significant distress, but can also impede recovery. As such, there is value to include the assessment of anger in routine post-trauma screening procedures. The Dimensions of Anger Reactions-5 (DAR-5), as a concise measure of anger, was designed to meet such a need, its brevity minimizing the burden on client and practitioner. This study examined the psychometric properties of the DAR-5 with a sample of 163 male veterans diagnosed with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. The DAR-5 demonstrated internal reliability (α=.86), along with convergent, concurrent and discriminant validity against a variety of established measures (e.g., HADS, PCL, STAXI). Support for the clinical cut-point score of 12 suggested by Forbes et al. (2014, Utility of the dimensions of anger reactions-5 (DAR-5) scale as a brief anger measure. Depression and Anxiety, 31, 166-173) was observed. The results support considering the DAR-5 as a preferred screening and assessment measure of problematic anger.

Keywords: Anger; Assessment; DAR; Trauma.

MeSH terms

Adult
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Alcoholism / diagnosis
Anger / physiology*
Anxiety Disorders / diagnosis
Depressive Disorder / diagnosis
Discriminant Analysis
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Psychometrics
Quality of Life
Reproducibility of Results
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / psychology*
Stress, Psychological / diagnosis
Surveys and Questionnaires*
Veterans / psychology*