title: Psychometric properties of the affective reactivity index in Australian adults and adolescents.
abstract: Irritable mood is implicated in a range of psychiatric conditions in both adults and adolescents. Research into appropriate measures of irritability, however, has been sparse. Recently, Stringaris et al. (2012) published the Affective Reactivity Index (ARI), a measure of chronic irritability with promising psychometric properties. This article presents psychometric properties of the ARI with Australian adolescents and, for the first time, with adults. The adolescent sample (n = 396) was recruited from 11 secondary schools in southeastern Australia. The adult sample (n = 221) was recruited through poster and online advertising. Both samples completed a battery of measures (including the ARI, Reynolds Adolescent Depression Scale-2, Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, Generalized Anxiety Disorder Screen, and Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale) on a single occasion, and a subsample of adults (n = 32) completed the ARI a 2nd time after 1 week to establish test-retest reliability. Parent and self-report scales had excellent internal consistency and correlated well with each other. Test-retest reliability was also very good in the adult sample (intraclass correlation coefficient = .80). Convergent validity was demonstrated, as irritability was related to psychopathology in both adults and adolescents as expected. The ARI is a brief, easy-to-use scale to measure chronic irritability, with promising psychometric properties for use with Australian adults and adolescents.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Developmental Psychiatry and Psychology.
authors.forename: Melissa A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Mulraney
authors.affiliation: Centre for Developmental Psychiatry and Psychology.
authors.forename: Glenn A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Melvin
authors.affiliation: Centre for Developmental Psychiatry and Psychology.
authors.forename: Bruce J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Tonge
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D019958:Attention Deficit and Disruptive Behavior Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D001315:Australia; D002648:Child; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007508:Irritable Mood; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D057566:Self Report; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult