The Level of Anger Scale (LAS)

Abstract

The Level of Anger Scale (LAS) is a concise, 15-item self-report measure developed primarily for the psychological assessment of the intensity and frequency of anger, with a specific focus on adolescents. Developed to quantify the severity of anger-related symptoms, the LAS requires respondents to rate their experiences of behavioral and emotional manifestations, such as feeling irritable, having difficulty controlling temper, and experiencing frustration. The items are rated using a 5-point Likert-type scale. The LAS is utilized extensively by clinicians and researchers to identify young individuals at risk for anger-related pathology and to evaluate the effectiveness of therapeutic interventions designed to manage anger.

Keywords

Anger, Adolescents, Affective assessment, Self-report measure, Hostility, Irritability, Psychological scale, Anger management, Psychometrics, Dispositional anger.

Authors

Jaquaye Russell, Dr. Raymond DiGiuseppe (Theoretical Influence)

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Purpose

The fundamental purpose of the Level of Anger Scale (LAS) is to offer a standardized and quantifiable metric for assessing the current level and overall intensity of anger experienced by young individuals. This makes the LAS an indispensable tool for both clinical practice and research studies focused on monitoring affective states over time and providing an objective measure of symptom severity.

The scale serves a critical diagnostic function by helping practitioners identify adolescents who face an elevated risk for developing serious anger-related behavioral issues, such as aggression, or co-occurring psychological difficulties like depression and anxiety. Furthermore, the instrument is essential for tracking longitudinal changes in affective state, thereby providing empirical evidence regarding the effectiveness of specific anger management programs.

Construct

The LAS is designed to measure the psychological construct of anger intensity. This construct is defined comprehensively, encompassing the frequency and magnitude of emotional, cognitive, and behavioral expressions of anger. Crucially, the scale moves beyond a simple measurement of transient mood to assess a more stable, dispositional tendency toward anger.

The fifteen items collectively assess diverse facets of how anger manifests. These facets include internal cognitive processes (e.g., angry thoughts or ruminations), external behavioral expressions (e.g., yelling, hitting, or destruction of property), and characteristic emotional states (e.g., irritability and frustration). The resulting total score provides a robust, comprehensive indicator of the individual’s typical and overall level of anger.

Validity

The Level of Anger Scale has demonstrated strong validity as an instrument for measuring anger in adolescents. Its validity is primarily supported by its consistent ability to correlate significantly and negatively with established indicators of psychological distress and behavioral problems.

Empirical studies have consistently shown that elevated scores on the LAS are associated with adverse outcomes, including diminished self-esteem, poorer academic achievement, increased propensity for substance abuse, and higher levels of aggression. Notably, research validating the scale among African American adolescents confirms its broad utility and cross-cultural applicability within diverse youth populations.

Reliability

The LAS exhibits sound psychometric properties, having been established as a highly reliable measure of anger in adolescents across numerous research applications. This established reliability is crucial, as it ensures that the results obtained from the scale are consistent, dependable, and stable over time, irrespective of when or where the instrument is administered.

Factor Analysis

Specific details regarding the internal factor structure of the LAS, such as the exact number of extracted factors or the percentage of variance explained, are not explicitly provided in the core source documentation. However, given that the 15 items were developed to assess a unified construct—the overall intensity level of anger—it is theoretically implied that the scale is likely either unidimensional or composed of highly correlated sub-factors related to the frequency and expression of anger symptoms.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report measure / Psychological Questionnaire

Format: 15 items utilizing a 5-point Likert-type scale.

Language Available: English (Primary language of development).

Population Group: Clinical and non-clinical individuals, primarily adolescents.

Age Group: Adolescence.

Population Details: The scale has been validated for use within diverse groups, including African American adolescents.

Test Methodology: Respondents rate the frequency or intensity of their experience related to anger symptoms. The scoring ranges from “never” or “not at all” to “very often” or “extremely.” A total score calculation is used to quantify the overall level of anger.

Keywords

Psychological testing, Temper, Behavioral assessment, Affective disorders, Self-esteem, Aggression, Frustration, Clinical measurement.

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Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: N/A (Information not provided in source.)

Affiliation Email addresses: N/A (Information not provided in source.)

Correspondence Address: N/A (Information not provided in source.)

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The LAS was developed by Jaquaye Russell and published in 2013 as part of the thesis titled “Instrument Development: Youth Anger, Youth Forgiveness, and Youth Emotional Support.” The instrument itself is located on pages 113-114 of the original thesis document. Permissions for use should be directed to the author or the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee. The original PDF can be downloaded here: http://dc.uwm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1269&context=etd.

Reference’s

• Russell, Jaquaye. (2013). “Instrument Development: Youth Anger, Youth Forgiveness, and Youth Emotional Support.” University of Wisconsin Milwaukee. Theses and Dissertations. Paper 264.
• Gassin, E. A., Enright, R. D., & Knutson, L. (2005). Study utilizing the LAS (Reference inferred from source content).

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Items of the The Level of Anger Scale (LAS)

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

The rating options used for these items are: Strongly Disagree‚ Mildly Disagree‚ Agree and Disagree equally‚ Mildly Agree‚ Strongly Agree.

1. I often feel mad.
2. My parents think I get angry a lot.
3. Among my friends‚ I get angrier than others.
4. I yell at others a lot.
5. It is very easy for me to get frustrated.
6. People always make me angry.
7. I have angry thoughts at home.
8. I hit/destroy things when I get frustrated.
9. I have angry thoughts when I am at school.
10. People often say that I am mean to others.
11. It is difficult for me to overlook other people’s mistakes.
12. Other people think I tend to overreact.
13. I feel like I am about to explode from all the anger inside me.