Anger coping styles and major personality dimensions: a closer look at the construct validity of the behavioural anger response questionnaire (Barq)

• Main Author: Hogan, Brenda E.
• Format: Others
• Language: English
• Published: 2009
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/8129

The purpose of the present study was to further examine the psychometric properties of the newly developed Behavioural Anger Response Questionnaire (BARQ) and investigate how anger coping styles are conceptually embedded in the Five Factor Model of Personality (FFM). Previous factor analyses have demonstrated that the BARQ captures 6 distinct anger coping dimensions: Aggressive Anger out, Avoidance, JJiffusion, Social Support Seeking, Rurnination, and Assertion. The BARQ and the NEO-FFI were adrriinistered to 400 participants (232 students, 168 community members; 146 men, 226 women; 203 Asian- Canadians, 185 Caucasian-Canadians). Internal consistencies for the BARQ subscales were moderately high, with the exception of Diffusion. Low iotercorrelations were observed between the subscales. Women scored significantly higher than men on Social Support Seeking and sigriificantly lower than men on Aggressive Anger Out. Asian-Canadians scored significantly higher on Avoidant Coping than Caucasian-Canadians. Factor analysis revealed a stable 6 factor solution that fairly represented the subscales of the BARQ; this factor structure was shown to be highly similar to that obtained with alternate samples. Factor analyses were conducted on the data from each subgroup; these factor structures were also shown to be highly similar. Highly significant correlations were observed between Rurnination and Neuroticism (r = .47, p < .001) and Aggression and Agreeableness (r = -.51, p < .001). A moderate negative correlation was observed between Rumination and Agreeableness (r = -.29, p < .001). These correlations remained stable across all subgroups. Avoidant coping did not correlate well with any of the NEO subscales. These results suggest that the BARQ is a psychometrically sound and original measure and that the factorial model of anger coping underlying the BARQ can only be partially placed within the structure of the FFM. === Arts, Faculty of === Psychology, Department of === Graduate