Abstract
Although cognitive–behavioral therapy is the preferred anger management treatment, research on the cognitive processes associated with anger is relatively sparse. One reason for this has been a lack of adequate measures of the cognitive processes associated with anger. The current study addresses this limitation by developing a theoretically derived instrument to measure the cognitive processes thought to be associated with maladaptive anger. Pilot work identified a set of 72 items written to reflect 5 domains that cut across cognitive theories of anger: overgeneralizing, inflammatory labeling, demandingness, catastrophic evaluation, and misattributing causation. Items were administered to 362 participants and statistical analyses yielded the 54-item Angry Cognitions Scale (ACS). Evidence supporting the construct validity of the ACS was demonstrated through relationships with the experience and expression/control of anger, hostile thoughts, anger consequences, depression and anxiety, and other measures of positive and negative cognitions.
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Martin, R.C., Dahlen, E.R. The angry cognitions scale: a new inventory for assessing cognitions in anger. J Rat-Emo Cognitive-Behav Ther 25, 155–173 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10942-006-0033-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10942-006-0033-2