José Ashford
Professor of Social Work, Arizona State University
Key Findings
- Two of the seven tested models of the Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire were found to be superior in their assessments of measuring aggression.
- Of these two superior methods – the Bryant and Smith model and the Diamond model – the authors recommend that researchers use the Bryant and Smith model, as it is more established and validated.
Description
In the article, “Buss–Perry Aggression Questionnaire. Testing Alternative Measurement Models with Assaultive Misdemeanor Offenders,” Ashford tested different methods of measuring aggression in a group of misdemeanor offenders. The Buss–Perry Aggression Questionnaire (BP-AQ), developed in 1992, is a widely used measure of aggression in research and in applied settings. This study tested the efficacy of seven different models of the BP-AQ in a population of 246 individuals who had pled guilty to aggressive offenses in a misdemeanor court. After gathering results over a three-year period, the authors found that two of the seven models outperformed the others – the Bryant and Smith model and the Diamond model. The authors recommended that researchers use the Bryant and Smith model over the Diamond version, as the Bryant and Smith model has a more established record in the literature and has been validated in a greater number of populations.