title: The Factor Structure of the Aggression Questionnaire With Violent Offenders.
abstract: The Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire (AQ) is a self-report measure of aggressiveness commonly employed in nonforensic and forensic settings and is included in violent offender pre- and posttreatment assessment batteries. The aim of the current study was to assess the fit of the four-factor model of the AQ with violent offenders ( N = 271), a population for which the factor structure of the English version of the AQ has not previously been examined. Confirmatory factor analyses did not yield support for the four-factor model of the original 29-item AQ. Acceptable fit was obtained with the 12-item short form, but careful examination of the relationships between the latent factors revealed that the four subscales of the AQ may not represent distinct aspects of aggressiveness. Our findings call into question whether the AQ optimally measures trait aggressiveness among violent offenders.
authors.affiliation: 1 Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Cathrine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pettersen
authors.affiliation: 1 Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Kevin L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Nunes
authors.affiliation: 2 University of Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
authors.forename: Franca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cortoni
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000374:Aggression; D057237:Criminals / Q000523:psychology*; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D057566:Self Report; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: AQ; Aggression Questionnaire; CFA; aggression; confirmatory factor analysis; violent offenders