The Brief Aggression Questionnaire: Structure, Validity, Reliability, and Generalizability

Gregory D. Webster, C. Nathan DeWall, Richard S. Pond, Timothy Deckman, Peter K. Jonason, Bonnie M. Le, Austin Lee Nichols, Tatiana Orozco Schember, Laura C. Crysel, Benjamin S. Crosier, C. Veronica Smith, E. Layne Paddock, John B. Nezlek, Lee A. Kirkpatrick, Angela D. Bryan, Renée J. Bator

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

37 Scopus citations

Abstract

In contexts that increasingly demand brief self-report measures (e.g., experience sampling, longitudinal and field studies), researchers seek succinct surveys that maintain reliability and validity. One such measure is the 12-item Brief Aggression Questionnaire (BAQ; Webster et al., 2014), which uses 4 3-item subscales: Physical Aggression, Verbal Aggression, Anger, and Hostility. Although prior work suggests the BAQ's scores are reliable and valid, we addressed some lingering concerns. Across 3 studies (N = 1,279), we found that the BAQ had a 4-factor structure, possessed long-term test-retest reliability across 12 weeks, predicted differences in behavioral aggression over time in a laboratory experiment, generalized to a diverse nonstudent sample, and showed convergent validity with a displaced aggression measure. In addition, the BAQ's 3-item Anger subscale showed convergent validity with a trait anger measure. We discuss the BAQ's potential reliability, validity, limitations, and uses as an efficient measure of aggressive traits.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)638-649
Number of pages12
JournalJournal of Personality Assessment
Volume97
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 2 2015

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
1Department of Psychology, University of Florida 2Department of Psychology, University of Kentucky 3Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina at Wilmington 4Department of Psychology, University of Western Sydney, Australia 5Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Canada 6Department of Business, University of Navarra, Pamplona, Navarra, Spain 7Department of Psychology, Stetson University 8Center for Technology and Behavioral Health, Dartmouth College 9Department of Psychology, University of Mississippi 10Chair of Work and Organizational Psychology, ETH-Zu€rich, Switzerland 11Department of Psychology, College of William and Mary 12University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Poznań, Poland 13Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado, Boulder 14Department of Psychology, State University of New York at Plattsburgh

Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Clinical Psychology
  • Psychiatry and Mental health
  • Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis

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