Refining the Architecture of Aggression: A Measurement Model for the Buss–Perry Aggression Questionnaire

Abstract

Among the most popular measures of aggression is the 29-item, self-report Aggression Questionnaire (AQ; Buss & Perry, 1992; Buss & Warren, 2000). Structural analyses of the AQ have revealed four underlying factors: Physical Aggression, Verbal Aggression, Anger, and Hostility. However, these four factors explain too little common variance (i.e., about 80%) to be an adequate measurement model. In the present study, we used confirmatory factor analysis with a total sample of 1154 respondents to compare four alternative measurement models for the AQ that are currently in use. Replicating earlier work, none of these models fit the data well, and the original four-factor model achieved only mediocre goodness-of-fit in three independent samples (GFI = .76 − .81). To develop a more appropriate measurement model, we omitted items with low loadings or multiple loadings based on principal components analysis and excluded items with reverse-scored wording. This yielded a 12-item, four-factor measurement model with acceptable goodness-of-fit (GFI = .94). Secondary analysis of two independent data sets confirmed the refined model's generalizability for British (Archer, Holloway, & McLoughlin, 1995; GFI = .93) and Canadian (Harris, 1995; GFI = .94) samples. The refined model yielded equivalent factor structures for males and females in all three samples. We also replicated the refined four-factor model in two additional American samples, who completed a new short form of the AQ containing only the subset of 12 items in random order. Additional analyses provided evidence supporting the model's construct validity and demonstrated stronger discriminant validity for the refined Hostility factor compared to its predecessor. The new short form of the AQ thus not only contains fewer than half as many items as the original, but also is psychometrically superior.