Anger and Support Scale (AAS)

Abstract

The Anger and Support Scale (AAS) is a specialized, brief psychometric instrument developed to measure an individual’s perceived availability and quality of social support specifically related to the experience and expression of anger. Drawing upon established social support theories (Cohen & Wills, 1985), the AAS assesses both emotional and informational support systems available during stressful or frustrating events.

The scale is highly efficient, consisting of only six items rated on a 5-point Likert-type scale format, making it suitable for studies where administration time is limited. Notably, the AAS was primarily normed on an African-American, adolescent population. Scores range from 6 to 30, where higher scores reflect a greater perceived level of reliable support concerning feelings of anger.

Keywords

Anger, Social Support, Adolescent population, African-American, Psychological Scale, Emotional Support, Informational Support, Psychometric, Internal consistency, AAS

Authors

Russell, Jaquaye

Purpose

The primary objective of the Anger and Support Scale (AAS) is to provide a reliable quantitative measure of an individual’s perceived access to social resources when they are experiencing intense emotions such as anger or frustration. This measurement is vital for researchers seeking to understand how social structures contribute to effective coping mechanisms and overall social resilience, especially among populations exposed to high levels of stress.

The instrument was designed with practicality and accessibility as core considerations. It is self-report, straightforward to complete, and intentionally developed to be readily available to researchers at no cost. Its broad utility stems from its non-specificity regarding the source of support (e.g., family, peers, professional), allowing for its application across diverse social and clinical settings.

Construct

The central construct measured by the AAS is the Perceived Level of Support Surrounding Anger. This construct integrates fundamental components of social support theory, placing specific emphasis on the participant’s belief in the availability and quality of systems that provide emotional reassurance and informational guidance during times characterized by angry affect and high stress.

The scale operationalizes this construct through items assessing the participant’s confidence in their ability to communicate their anger safely and effectively, and their perception that others genuinely listen to and understand them during these intense emotional states. By instructing participants to reflect on their experiences over the past three weeks, the AAS provides a snapshot of current, functional support rather than generalized historical experience.

Validity

Explicit, detailed results concerning various forms of validity, such as convergent or discriminant validity, are not extensively documented in the source material. However, the rigor of the scale development process suggests focused attention on construct clarity. The initial questionnaire underwent significant refinement, reducing the item pool from 12 preliminary items to a concise final version of 6 items, indicating a systematic effort to maximize item relevance and internal cohesion with the target construct.

Analysis of response frequencies within the study sample revealed distinct distribution characteristics. The data exhibited a slight positive skew (0.233) and a relatively flat distribution (kurtosis -1.14). This distribution pattern suggests that, within the original norming sample, participants tended to report lower levels of perceived support, evidenced by the cumulative selection of ‘strongly disagree’ and ‘mildly disagree’ (46%) being significantly higher than the cumulative selection of ‘strongly agree’ and ‘mildly agree’ (33%).

Reliability

The Anger and Support Scale (AAS) demonstrates excellent internal consistency, a critical metric of reliability. The internal consistency for the final 6-item version was calculated using Cronbach’s alpha, yielding a strong value of 0.857. This figure surpasses the generally accepted threshold for robust psychological scales, confirming a high degree of homogeneity among the items and affirming that they consistently measure the same underlying construct of perceived support.

Further evidence supporting the measure’s reliability is found in the item-total correlations, which ranged from 0.59 to 0.68. These correlations are considered strong, indicating that each individual item contributes meaningfully and consistently to the overall scale score, thereby demonstrating sound psychometric performance for the instrument.

Factor Analysis

Formal results from an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) or confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) are not explicitly detailed in the available source content. Nevertheless, the development process—which involved significant item reduction and refinement—combined with the exceptionally high single-factor internal consistency score (0.857), strongly implies that the AAS is conceptualized and validated as a unidimensional scale. Researchers should treat the AAS as measuring a single, coherent factor: the perceived availability of support when experiencing anger.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report psychological scale

Format: 6 items rated on a 5-point Likert-type scale

Language Available: English (Original development language)

Population Group: Clinical and Non-clinical adolescents

Age Group: Adolescent

Population Details: Primarily normed on an African-American, adolescent population.

Test Methodology: Participants respond based on feelings over the past three weeks. Scoring ranges from 6 (minimum support) to 30 (maximum support). The observed mean score in the development sample was 16.98 (SD = 6.36).

Keywords

Anger management, Emotional support, Self-report measure, Adolescence, Social resilience, Psychometrics, Reliability, Internal consistency, Unidimensional scale, AAS

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not provided in source.

Affiliation Email addresses: Not provided in source.

Correspondence Address: Not provided in source.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The Anger and Support Scale (AAS) was developed as part of a doctoral dissertation by Jaquaye Russell, completed in 2013. A key feature of the instrument is its intended accessibility: the source material explicitly states that the scale is designed to be readily available at no cost for researchers and practitioners.

The original instrument, along with supplementary appendices, is fully documented in the dissertation titled “Instrument Development: Youth Anger, Youth Forgiveness, and Youth Emotional Support.” 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.

• Cohen, S., & Wills, T. A. (1985). Stress, social support, and the buffering hypothesis. Psychological Bulletin, 98(2), 310–357.

Items of the Anger and Support Scale (AAS)

Directions: Think about how you have felt over the past 3 weeks, indicate the degree to which you agree or disagree with each statement below by using the following scale:

• 1. I have people I can share my mad feelings with.

• 2. When I talk to someone about my angry feelings‚ I feel safe.

• 3. I have a person I can talk to when I get angry.

• 4. I have someone who listens to me when I get frustrated.

• 5. It is easy for me to share my angry feelings with others.

• 6. I have someone who understands me when I get mad.

Response Anchors (5-point Likert Scale):

• 1 = Strongly Disagree (SD)

• 2 = Mildly Disagree (MD)

• 3 = Agree and Disagree equally (A/D)

• 4 = Mildly Agree (MA)

• 5 = Strongly Agree (SA)