Psychometric properties of the aggression questionnaire in Dutch violent forensic psychiatric patients and secondary vocational students

Assessment. 2009 Jun;16(2):181-92. doi: 10.1177/1073191108325894. Epub 2008 Oct 13.

Abstract

The psychometric properties of a Dutch version of Buss and Perry's Aggression Questionnaire (AQ) were examined in a sample of violent forensic psychiatric inpatients and outpatients and a sample of secondary vocational students. The internal consistency, interitem correlations, and item-scale correlations of the subscales Physical Aggression, Anger, and Hostility were good but turned out to be unsatisfactory for the subscale Verbal Aggression. The four-factor structure of the AQ could not be confirmed, but the four-factor structure of a 12-item version (short form) of the AQ, the AQ-SF, produced an acceptable fit. The test-retest reliability of the AQ and AQ-SF total scores was good, although the test-retest reliability of the AQ-SF subscale Physical Aggression was not satisfactory. The validity of both the AQ and AQ-SF could be demonstrated by meaningful correlations with alternative measures of aggression and personality, but inpatients were not found to display higher scores on the AQ or AQ-SF than the students.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Aggression / psychology*
  • Humans
  • Inpatients
  • Male
  • Mental Disorders / psychology*
  • Middle Aged
  • Netherlands
  • Outpatients
  • Psychometrics
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Students / psychology
  • Surveys and Questionnaires*
  • Vocational Education