The measurement of violent behavior presents serious challenges for research on violence. In the current article, we present initial tests of the construct validity of scores on the Violent Behavior Vignette Questionnaire (VBVQ), which consists of a series of interpersonal conflict vignettes with response options in a multiple-choice format designed to measure current violent behavior. Violent responses on the initial version of the VBVQ generally corresponded to independent indicators of physical aggressiveness and violent behavior among male university students, men in the community, and incarcerated male offenders. We then refined the VBVQ and again tested the validity of its scores in new samples of men in the community and incarcerated male offenders. In both samples, men who selected a violent response option on the VBVQ generally had much higher levels of physical aggressiveness and violent behavior than did men who selected non-violent response options. However, VBVQ responses were not associated with the number of violent offenses in offenders’ official criminal records. Our findings provide some support for the use of the VBVQ in lab and correctional/forensic research, but further research is required to determine whether it offers advantages over other measures.
AbbeyA.WegnerR. (2015).
Using experimental paradigms to examine alcohol’s role in men’s sexual aggression: Opportunities and challenges in proxy development. Violence Against Women,
21(8), 975–996. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077801215589378
2.
AndersonC. A.BushmanB. J. (1997).
External validity of “trivial” experiments: The case of laboratory aggression. Review of General Psychology,
1(1), 19–41.
3.
AndersonC. A.LindsayJ. J.BushmanB. J. (1999).
Research in the psychological laboratory: Truth or triviality?.Current Directions in Psychological Science,
8(1), 3–9. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8721.00002
4.
BarnumG.GobeilR. (2012). Prediction of re-offence using the SIR-R1 and a proxy (Research Report No. R-281). Research Branch, Correctional Service of Canada.
5.
BontaJ.LawM.HansonR. K. (1998).
The prediction of criminal and violent recidivism among mentally disordered offenders: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin,
123(2), 123–142.
6.
BryantF. B.SmithB. D. (2001).
Refining the architecture of aggression: A measurement model for the Buss-Perry Questionnaire. Journal of Research in Personality,
35(2), 138–167. https://doi.org/10.1006/jrpe.2000.2302
7.
BussA. H. (1961). The psychology of aggression.
Wiley.
8.
BussA. H.PerryM. (1992).
The aggression questionnaire. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,
63(3), 452–459.
9.
CampbellM. A.FrenchS.GendreauP. (2009).
The prediction of violence in adult offenders: A meta-analytic comparison of instruments and methods of assessment. Criminal Justice and Behavior,
36(6), 567–590. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093854809333610
10.
CherekD. R. (1992). Manual for point subtraction aggression paradigm. A computer program to measure aggressive responding in human subjects under controlled laboratory conditions.
University of Texas Health Science Center.
11.
CherekD. R.MoellerF. G.SchnappW.DoughertyD. M. (1997).
Studies of violent and nonviolent male parolees: I. Laboratory and psychometric measurements of aggression. Biological Psychiatry,
41(5), 514–522. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0006-3223(96)00059-5
12.
CoccaroE. F.FanningJ.LeeR. (2017).
Development of a Social Emotional Information Processing assessment for adults (SEIP-Q). Aggressive Behavior,
43(1), 47–59. https://doi.org/10.1002/ab.21661
13.
CohenJ. (1988).
A power primer. Quantitative Methods in Psychology,
112, 155–159.
14.
CornellD. G.WarrenJ.HawkG.StaffordE.OramG.PineD. (1996).
Psychopathy in instrumental and reactive violent offenders. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology,
64(4), 783–790. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-006X.64.4.783
15.
Correctional Service of Canada (2007). Violence prevention program [Unpublished program materials].
16.
DeWallC. N.FinkelE. J.LambertN. M.SlotterE. B.BodenhausenG. V.PondR. S.Jr.RenzettiC. M.FinchamF. D. (2013).
The Voodoo Doll Task: Introducing and validating a novel method for studying aggressive inclinations. Aggressive Behavior,
39(6), 419–439. https://doi.org/10.1002/ab.21496
17.
DiamondP. M.MagalettaP. R. (2006).
The Short-Form Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire (BPAQ-SF): A validation study with federal offenders. Assessment,
13(3), 227–240. https://doi.org/10.1177/1073191106287666
FergusonC. J.RuedaS. M. (2009).
Examining the validity of the modified Taylor Competitive Reaction Time Test of Aggression. Journal of Experimental Criminology,
5(2), 121–137. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11292-009-9069-5
20.
FeshbachS. (1964).
The function of aggression and the regulation of aggressive drive. Psychological Review,
71, 257–272. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0043041
GiancolaP. R.ParrottD. J. (2008).
Further evidence for the validity of the Taylor Aggression Paradigm. Aggressive Behavior,
34(2), 214–229. https://doi.org/10.1002/ab.20235
23.
GiancolaP. R.ZeichnerA. (1995).
Construct validity of a competitive reaction-time aggression paradigm. Aggressive Behavior,
21(3), 199–204.
24.
GolombB. A.Cortez-PerezM.JaworskiB. A.MednickS.DimsdaleJ. (2007).
Point Subtraction Aggression Paradigm: Validity of a brief schedule of use. Violence and Victims,
22(1), 95–103. https://doi.org/10.1891/vv-v22i1a006
25.
HallG. C. N.HirschmanR. (1994).
The relationship between men’s sexual aggression inside and outside the laboratory. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology,
62(2), 375–380. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-006X.62.2.375
26.
HansonR. K.Wallace-CaprettaS. (2004).
Predictors of criminal recidivism among male batterers. Psychology, Crime, and Law,
10(4), 413–427. https://doi.org/10.1080/10683160310001 629283
27.
HarrisG. T.RiceM. E.QuinseyV. L. (1993).
Violent recidivism of mentally disordered offenders: The development of a statistical prediction instrument. Criminal Justice and Behavior,
20(4), 315–335.
28.
HarrisG. T.RiceM. E.QuinseyV. L.CormierC. A. (2015). Violent offenders: Appraising and managing risk. (3rd ed.).
American Psychological Association.
29.
HenryB.CaspiA.MoffittT. E.SilvaP. A. (1996).
Temperamental and familial predictors of violent and nonviolent criminal convictions: Age 3 to age 18. Developmental Psychology,
32(4), 614–623.
30.
HermannC. A.NunesK. L. (2018).
Implicit and explicit evaluations of sexual aggression predict subsequent sexually aggressive behavior in a sample of community men. Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment,
30(5), 510–532. https://doi.org/10.1177/1079063216682952
31.
HiltonN. Z.HarrisG. T.RiceM. E. (2003).
Correspondence between self-report measures of interpersonal aggression. Journal of Interpersonal Violence,
18(3), 223–239. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260502250065
32.
KennedyS. M. (1990). Anger management training with adult prisoners (NN60049) [Doctoral dissertation, University of Ottawa]. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses.
33.
KronerD. G.MillsJ. F.MorganR. D. (2007).
Underreporting of crime-related content and the prediction of criminal recidivism among violent offenders. Psychological Services,
4(2), 85–95. https://doi.org/10.1037/1541-1559.4.2.85
34.
LiebermanJ. D.SolomonS.GreenbergJ.McGregorH. A. (1999).
A hot new way to measure aggression: Hot sauce allocation. Aggressive Behavior,
25(5), 331–348.
35.
LiebowitzG. (1968).
Comparison of self-report and behavioral techniques of assessing aggression. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology,
32(1), 21–25. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0025431
36.
LimL.DayA.CaseyS. (2011).
Social cognitive processing in violent male offenders. Psychiatry, Psychology, and Law,
18(2), 177–189. https://doi.org/10.1080/13218711003739490
37.
LongshoreD.TurnerS. (1998).
Self-control and criminal opportunity: Cross-sectional test of the General Theory of Crime. Criminal Justice and Behavior,
25(1), 81–98. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093854898025001005
38.
LozaW. (2005). The Self-Appraisal Questionnare (SAQ): A tool for assessing violent and non-violent recidivism.
Multi-Health Systems.
39.
MagnussonK. (2020, February 22). Interpreting Cohen’s d effect size: An interactive visualization (Version 2.0.0, beta). https://rpsychologist.com/d3/cohend/
40.
MillsJ. F.KronerD. G. (2005).
An investigation into the relationship between socially desirable responding and offender self-report. Psychological Services,
2(1), 70–80. https://doi.org/10.1037/1541-1559.2.1.70
41.
MillsJ. F.KronerD. G. (2006).
Impression management and self-report among violent offenders. Journal of Interpersonal Violence,
21(2), 178–192. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260 505282288
42.
MillsJ. F.LozaW.KronerD. G. (2003).
Predictive validity despite social desirability: Evidence for the robustness of self-report among offenders. Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health : CBMH,
13(2), 140–150. https://doi.org/10.1002/cbm.536
43.
MurphyS.PrestonD. L. (1999). Reactions to hostile situations survey. In PrestonD. L.FazioR. DiSerinR. C. (Eds.), Persistently violent offender program assessment manual (pp. 59–65).
Correctional Service Canada.
44.
New Zealand Department of Corrections. (2007). Violence prevention program [Unpublished treatment manual].
45.
NovacoR. W. (1975). Anger control: The development and evaluation of an experimental treatment. Lexington.
46.
NunesK. L.HermannC. A.MaimoneS.WoodsM. (2015).
Thinking clearly about violent cognitions: Attitudes may be distinct from other cognitions. Journal of Interpersonal Violence,
30(8), 1322–1347. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260514540329
47.
O’ConnorD. B.ArcherJ.WuF. W. C. (2001).
Measuring aggression: Self-reports, partner reports, and responses to provoking scenarios. Aggressive Behavior,
27(2), 79–101. https://doi.org/10.1002/ab.2
48.
OlverM. E.KingstonD. A.NicholaichukT. P.WongS. C. P. (2014).
A psychometric examination of treatment change in a multisite sample of treated Canadian federal sexual offenders. Law and Human Behavior,
38(6), 544–559. https://doi.org/10.1037/lhb0000086
49.
Paulhus, D. L. (1994). Balanced Inventory of Desirable Responding: Reference manual for the BIDR version 6. Unpublished manuscript, University of British Columbia.
50.
PapaliaN.SpivakB.DaffernM.OgloffJ. R. P. (2019).
A meta‐analytic review of the efficacy of psychological treatments for violent offenders in correctional and forensic mental health settings. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice,
26(2), e12282. https://doi.org/10.1111/cpsp.12282
51.
PaschallM. J.FishbeinD. H.HubalR. C.EldrethD. (2005).
Psychometric properties of virtual reality vignette performance measures: A novel approach for assessing adolescents’ social competency skills. Health Education Research,
20(1), 61–70. https://doi.org/10.1093/her/cyg103
PettersenC.NunesK. L.CortoniF. (2018).
The factor structure of the Aggression Questionnaire with violent offenders. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology,
62(7), 1888–1905. https://doi.org/10.1177/0306624X17691242
54.
PolaschekD. L.DixonB. G. (2001).
The violence prevention project the development and evaluation of a treatment programme for violent offenders. Psychology, Crime, & Law,
7(1), 1–23. https://doi.org/10.1080/1068316010840177.
55.
QuinseyV. L.MaguireA.VarneyG. W. (1983).
Assertion and over-controlled hostility among mentally disordered murderers. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology,
51(4), 550–556.
56.
RiceM. E.HarrisG. T.LangC. (2013).
Validation of a revision to the VRAG and SORAG: The Violence Risk Appraisal Guide—Revised (VRAG-R). Psychological Assessment,
25(3), 951–965. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0032878
57.
RiceM. E.HarrisG. T.LangC.CormierC. (2006).
Violent sex offenses: How are they best measured from official records?Law and Human Behavior,
30(4), 525–541. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10979-006-9022-3
58.
RussaM. B.RodriguezC. M. (2010).
Physical discipline, escalation, and child abuse potential: Psychometric evidence for the analog parenting task. Aggressive Behavior,
36(4), 251–260. https://doi.org/10.1002/ab.20345
TaylorS. (1967).
Aggressive behavior and physiological arousal as a function of provocation and the tendency to inhibit aggression. Journal of Personality,
35(2), 297–310.
61.
TheobaldD.FarringtonD. P.LoeberR.PardiniD. A.PiqueroA. R. (2014).
Scaling up from convictions to self-reported offending. Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health: CBMH,
24(4), 265–276. https://doi.org/10.1002/cbm.1928
62.
ThornberryT. P.KrohnM. D. (2000). The self-report method for measuring delinquency and crime. In DuffeeD.CrutchfieldR. D.MastrofskiS.MazerolleL.McDowallD.OstromB. (Eds.), Criminal justice 2000: Innovations in measurement and analysis.
National Institute of Justice.
63.
UdellC. J. (2009). Application of videos and role plays for the assessment of social problem solving in participants of a violence reduction training program (UMI No. 3368323) [Doctoral dissertation, Central Michigan University]. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses.
64.
WilliamsJ. F.MeyersonL. J.EronL. D.SemlerI. J. (1967).
Peer-rated aggression and aggressive responses elicited in an experimental situation. Child Development,
38(1), 181–190. https://doi.org/10.2307/1127139
65.
WilliamsT. Y.BoydJ. C.CascardiM. A.PoythressN. (1996).
Factor structure and convergent validity of the Aggression Questionnaire in an offender population. Psychological Assessment,
8(4), 398–403.
66.
ZeichnerA.FreyF. C.ParrottD. J.ButrynM. (1999).
Measurement of laboratory aggression: A new response choice paradigm. Psychological Reports,
85(3_suppl), 1229–1237.
67.
ZeichnerA.ParrottD. J.FreyF. C. (2003).
Gender differences in laboratory aggression under response choice conditions. Aggressive Behavior,
29(2), 95–106. https://doi.org/10.1002/ab.10030
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
