The Anger Expression Scale for Children (AESC)

Abstract

The Anger Expression Scale for Children (AESC) is a specialized instrument developed by Steele, Legerski, Nelson, and Phipps in 2009 for the comprehensive assessment of anger experience and expression among youth. This psychological scale is founded on a multidimensional framework, distinguishing between the internal experience and external management of angry feelings. It measures four crucial dimensions: Trait Anger, Anger Expression (Anger Out), Anger In (suppressed anger), and Anger Control.

Utilizing a developmentally appropriate 4-point Likert scale response format, the AESC provides clinicians and researchers with a nuanced profile of how children cope with anger. Its applicability extends across various settings, including clinical and research environments involving children, notably those facing chronic illnesses. The detailed assessment facilitates the development of targeted, effective psychological interventions aimed at improving emotional regulation and minimizing problematic behavioral outcomes.

Keywords

Anger Expression Scale for Children, AESC, Trait anger, Anger In, Anger Out, Anger Control, pediatric psychology, emotional regulation, psychological assessment, psychometrics, clinical measurement.

Authors

Steele, R.G., Legerski, Nelson, T.D., Phipps, S.

Purpose

The primary objective of the AESC is to establish a psychometrically sound measure of the construct of anger as it is experienced and behaviorally manifested by children. The development process ensured the use of language and scenarios that are contextually relevant to childhood experiences, allowing for reliable differentiation between the various ways a child processes anger: the inherent predisposition to feel angry (trait), the outward display of aggression, the internalization of feelings, and the perceived ability to regulate these emotions.

The scale holds significant value in specialized fields like pediatric psychology and health psychology, where emotional regulation is directly linked to overall psychological adjustment, particularly in populations dealing with chronic illness, such as pediatric oncology patients. By accurately mapping a child’s specific anger profile, the AESC serves as a vital tool for informing and tailoring therapeutic interventions aimed at improving emotional well-being and mitigating adverse behavioral outcomes resulting from ineffective anger management strategies.

Construct

The AESC is grounded in a robust, multidimensional model of anger expression, adapted from established instruments used in adult populations but specifically refined for pediatric use. This model posits that anger is not a monolithic construct but rather comprises four distinct, yet correlated, components that collectively define a child’s characteristic anger style. These four components are the basis for the scale’s subscales:

• Trait Anger: Measures the child’s general susceptibility or disposition to experience feelings of anger across a wide range of everyday situations, reflecting the underlying intensity and frequency of angry affect.
• Anger Expression (Anger Out): Quantifies the external, overt behavioral manifestation of anger. This includes hostile or aggressive actions such as verbal outbursts, yelling, fighting back, or physical actions like slamming doors.
• Anger In: Assesses the degree to which a child suppresses, inhibits, or internalizes angry feelings. This includes passive manifestations like sulking, pouting, or keeping feelings hidden from others, often leading to internalized distress.
• Anger Control: Reflects the child’s self-perception regarding their ability to effectively manage and regulate intense angry feelings. High scores indicate conscious efforts to maintain patience, remain calm, and engage in constructive problem-solving when provoked.

Validity

The foundational validation studies conducted by Steele et al. (2009) provided substantial evidence supporting the structural and construct validity of the AESC. A key element of this validation involved the use of Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) to rigorously test the hypothesized four-factor structure (Trait Anger, Anger Expression, Anger In, and Anger Control). The CFA results strongly supported this theoretical model, confirming that the scale successfully isolates and measures these intended, unique facets of anger experience and expression in children.

Furthermore, the AESC demonstrated satisfactory criterion validity, showing predictable and meaningful correlations with other established measures of psychological health, including indices of anxiety, general psychological distress, and behavioral problems. This pattern of correlation confirms that the scores derived from the AESC are relevant to broader psychological functioning. The validation process was meticulous, involving the identification and exclusion of specific items that exhibited poor item-total correlation, thereby ensuring the final instrument possesses high internal coherence and enhanced measurement precision.

Reliability

The AESC exhibits strong internal consistency, which is a cornerstone of its psychometric reliability. Across the four primary subscales, the reported Cronbach’s alpha coefficients consistently fall within acceptable clinical and research ranges, often exceeding the standard reliability threshold of .70. This statistical consistency indicates that the items composing each subscale are homogeneously measuring the same underlying construct, ensuring the scores are internally sound.

This high level of internal reliability ensures that the AESC provides stable and dependable scores when evaluating a child’s characteristic patterns of anger experience and management. The rigorous psychometric development, focusing on factor structure and internal coherence, confirms the instrument’s suitability for reliable and consistent emotional assessment within diverse pediatric populations.

Factor Analysis

The factor structure of the AESC was empirically established through Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), which confirmed a correlated four-factor model. The final, validated version of the scale comprises 26 items, strategically distributed across the four specialized subscales:

• Trait Anger: Consists of 10 items, designed to measure the general frequency and intensity of the child’s angry feelings.
• Anger Expression (Anger Out): Consists of 6 items, quantifying overt aggressive and hostile behaviors.
• Anger In: Consists of 4 items, measuring the suppression or internalization of anger.
• Anger Control: Consists of 6 items, assessing the perceived competence in managing and regulating emotional outbursts.

The CFA process was critical for refining the scale, leading to the exclusion of several initial items due to low item-total correlations. This refinement step was essential for optimizing the psychometric properties and ensuring the instrument’s ability to clearly differentiate between the distinct facets of anger management in children.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report psychological scale

Format: 4-point Likert scale response format. Response options include: Almost Never (Never), Sometimes (Some), Often, and Almost Always.

Language Available: English (Original validation).

Population Group: Pediatric population (Children).

Age Group: Typically utilized with school-aged children and adolescents capable of reading and providing self-report data.

Population Details: The scale was initially validated across diverse pediatric samples, including both healthy children and those diagnosed with chronic illnesses, such as cancer. This broad validation confirms its applicability across various pediatric clinical and research settings.

Test Methodology: The respondent (the child) is presented with a series of statements describing feelings or actions related to experiencing anger. They are instructed to rate how frequently each statement accurately applies to them when they feel angry.

Keywords

Pediatric psychology, emotional regulation, chronic illness, behavioral assessment, psychometrics, self-report, CFA, children with cancer, anger management.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not provided in source content.

Affiliation Email addresses: Not provided in source content.

Correspondence Address: Not provided in source content.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The initial validation and primary publication of the AESC occurred in 2009. Specific requirements regarding permissions for commercial use, clinical application, or associated fees must be obtained directly from the primary authors (Steele, R.G., et al.) or the journal publisher responsible for the foundational validation study.

Reference’s

• Steele, R.G., Legerski, Nelson, T.D., & Phipps, S. (2009). The Anger Expression Scale for Children: Initial validation among healthy children and children with cancer. The instrument and validation details are available online at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2722119/
• Firoozi.Manijeh, Besharat. Mohammad Ali. (2013). Computer Games for Anger Regulation in Children with Chronic Illness. Life Science Journal, 10(1), 2903-2908.

Items of the The Anger Expression Scale for Children (AESC)

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

The introductory instruction provided to the respondent is:

Everyone feels angry from time to time, but people differ in how they act when they are angry. Below are some statements that people use to describe themselves and how they act when they feel angry. Read each statement carefully, and decide how often the statement applies to you when you feel angry:

• 1. I feel angry
• 2. I feel like yelling at someone
• 3. I’m easygoing and don’t let things bother me*
• 4. I get very impatient if I have to wait for something
• 5. I lose my temper easily
• 6. I feel like breaking things
• 7. I feel grouchy or irritable
• 8. I get in a bad mood when things don’t go my way
• 8. I have a bad temper
• 9. I takes a lot to get me upset*
• 10. I have a bad temper
• 11. I get very angry if my parent or teacher criticizes me
• 12. I get in a bad mood easily
• 13. I slam door or stomp my feet
• 14. I keep it to myself
• 15. I control my temper
• 16. I let everybody know it
• 17. I pout or sulk*
• 18. I try to be patient
• 19. I argue of fight back
• 20. I don’t talk to anybody*
• 21. I keep my cool
• 22. I hit things or people
• 23. I feel it inside, but I don’t show it
• 24. I stay well behaved
• 25. I say mean or nasty things
• 26. I stay mad at people but keep it secret
• 27. I try to stay calm and settle the problem
• 28. I have a temper tantrum
• 29. I hold my anger in
• 30. I try to control my angry feelings

*Item not included in CFA due to low item-total correlation