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Virginia Tech

Development of the Posttraumatic Anger Scale

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

Anger is a pervasive problem after individuals experience traumatic stress that heightens the risk for violence, health problems, poor relationships, and poor treatment outcomes. Previous research has demonstrated a moderate relationship between anger and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), yet this research also highlights that anger has not been rigorously measured in the context of PTSD. Thus, this study concerns the development of a complimentary measure to assess anger in the context of PTSD. Participants were 435 undergraduate students. The participants were given a battery including the proposed scale and measures of trauma exposure, PTSD, anger, depression, anxiety, and social desirability to assess. Exploratory factor analyses revealed that a hierarchical, four-factor model was the best model. The Posttraumatic Anger Scale appeared psychometrically sound, with excellent internal consistency, good evidence of validity, and good model fit. This scale may provide implications for clinical work, specifically for the assessment and tracking of anger symptoms connected to PTSD. Additionally, this scale may assist with research by predicting treatment outcomes, aggression, and PTSD.

Degree

thesis:*
Name thesis:degree_name
Master of Science
Level thesis:degree_level
masters
Discipline thesis:degree_discipline
Psychology
Department dc:contributor.department
Psychology
Grantor dc:publisher
Virginia Tech
Year dc:date.issued
2015

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Sullivan, Connor Patrick
Chair dc:contributor.committeechair
  • Jones, Russell T.
Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember
  • White, Bradley
  • Hauenstein, Neil M. A.

Subjects

dc:subject × 4

Rights

dc:rights
Statement dc:rights
  • In Copyright
Language dc:language.iso
en_US

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
Dc Identifier Other
etd-12012015-165958
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/78047

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
Virginia Tech
Base URL
vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/oai/request
Last updated
2026-07-22
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
citation

Sullivan, Connor Patrick. Development of the Posttraumatic Anger Scale. masters thesis, Virginia Tech, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/78047