AUTHOR=Rohlf Helena L. , Krahé Barbara 

TITLE=Assessing anger regulation in middle childhood: development and validation of a behavioral observation measure

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychology

VOLUME=6

YEAR=2015

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00453

DOI=10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00453

ISSN=1664-1078

ABSTRACT=<p>An observational measure of anger regulation in middle childhood was developed that facilitated the <italic>in situ</italic> assessment of five maladaptive regulation strategies in response to an anger-eliciting task. 599 children aged 6–10 years (<italic>M</italic> = 8.12, <italic>SD</italic> = 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.</p>