Validating the Spanish version of the aggression scale in adolescents

Abstract

ABSTRACT The Scale of Physical and Verbal Aggressiveness has been an instrument widely used in the scientific literature to measure physical and verbal aggressiveness, both in children and adolescents as well as in parents. The original scale has shown adequate psychometric properties. However, the scale has not been previously validated in Spanish, and no confirmatory analyses have been provided yet in Spanish contexts. The aim of this paper is to validate the Spanish version of the Physical and Verbal Aggressiveness Scale via confirmatory factor analysis, with a sample of 531 secondary school adolescents from the Dominican Republic. Reliability, factorial, convergent, and discriminant validity evidence is presented. The results showed that the scale has adequate one-factor confirmatory solution, with very good reliability, and adequate validity when assessed in a sample of Dominican students. The results contrast the differentiation between verbal and physical aggression, questioning the use of the scale for this purpose.