title: Assessing anger regulation in middle childhood: development and validation of a behavioral observation measure.
abstract: An observational measure of anger regulation in middle childhood was developed that facilitated the in situ assessment of five maladaptive regulation strategies in response to an anger-eliciting task. 599 children aged 6-10 years (M = 8.12, SD = 0.92) participated in the study. Construct validity of the measure was examined through correlations with parent- and self-reports of anger regulation and anger reactivity. Criterion validity was established through links with teacher-rated aggression and social rejection measured by parent-, teacher-, and self-reports. The observational measure correlated significantly with parent- and self-reports of anger reactivity, whereas it was unrelated to parent- and self-reports of anger regulation. It also made a unique contribution to predicting aggression and social rejection.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Potsdam Potsdam, Germany.
authors.forename: Helena L
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Rohlf
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Potsdam Potsdam, Germany.
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Krahé
keywords: aggression; anger regulation; behavioral observation; middle childhood; social rejection