Abstract
The responses of 1,166 students in Grades 9 through 12 to the Multidimensional School Anger Inventory (MSAI) were used in four analyses to further examine and extend its psychometric properties. In Analysis 1, the original four-factor structure (Anger Experience, Hostility, Destructive Expression, and Positive Coping) of the MSAI was validated with a subsample of males and extended to a sample of females. Analysis 2 used another nonoverlapping subsample to further improve the MSAI by exploring the utility of adding exploratory items to the two anger expression subscales (Destructive Expression and Positive Coping). Based upon this analysis, four items were added to Destructive Expression and one item was added to Positive Coping. A principal components analysis once again replicated the four-factor structure. Analysis 3 was completed using a third nonoverlapping subsample of males and females to cross-validate the four-factor structure of the refined MSAI. Given the robustness of the MSAI factor structure across nonoverlapping subsamples and its comparability for males and females, Analysis 4 combined data for all 1,166 students to develop preliminary norms for the MSAI. Test-retest data for 508 students found stability coefficients to be moderate (.56 to .62) across the four subscales. Uses of the MSAI for school-based assessment and program evaluation and avenues for further development are discussed.
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