Project – II
Aggression
(The Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire (BPAQ)
Index
• Aim : To administer Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnare
• Basic Concepts
• Procedure
• Scoring
• Result and Discussions
• Conclusion
• Bibliography
• Appendix: Solved questionnaires of two participants and scoring sheet
(Tally Sheet)
Introduction : Basic Concepts
• The Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire (BPAQ) is a widely used, low-burden questionnaire that is
considered as the gold standard measurement of aggression.
• BPAQ consists of 29 self-administered items rated on 5 point Likert scale includes 4 subscales :
Physical Aggression(PA), Verbal Aggression (VA), Anger Subscale (AS) and Hostility Subscale (HS).
• The BPAQ has internal and test-retest reliability, strong convergent validity, and is appropriate for
both adolescents and adults. The BPAQ is a revision of the Buss-Durkee Hostility Inventory, which
was a widely used, well-validated aggression questionnaire.
• Aggression is a multifaceted construct reflecting a range of verbal, emotional, and physical behaviors
that can result in physical or psychological harm, typically consisting of expressions of anger or
hostility, assertions of dominance, and/or intimidation. Aggression is related to suicidal behavior and
may be useful for distinguishing attempters from no-attempters. Aggression is also a risk factor for
crime, violence, and substance abuse.
• Physical Aggression
• Verbal Aggression
• Anger
• Hostility
• BPAQ is a self-report scale that is designed to measure four major
components of aggression (physical aggression, verbal aggression,
anger and hostility).
• The Aggression Questionnaire is a 29 item questionnaire regarding
how aggressive someone is.
• Items are scored on a 1-5 scale, with the total scale score calculated as
a sum of the factor scores.
• The questions with asterisks are reverse scored. This means that for
example, if someone scored 1 it would now be a score of 5.
• The Aggression scale consists of 4 factors, Physical Aggression (PA),
Verbal Aggression (VA), Anger (A) and Hostility (H).
Procedure
Mode of Administration
• Self-administered questionnaire:
Life stage
• Adolescent
Participants
• Adolescents and adults, ages 12 and older
Language: English
Scoring
Aggression Factor I Aggression Factor II Aggression Factor III Aggression Factor IV Total
(Physical Aggression) (Verbal Aggression) (Anger) Hostility
Items: Items: Items: Items:
2,5,8,11,13,16*,22,25, 4,6,14,21,27 1,9*,12,18,19,23,28 15,17,24,7,26,10,20,3
29
Sum of score on each
item.
• The score for each scale is the sum or the ratings for its items. The two items
(9and 16) worded in the direction opposite to aggression are reverse-scored.
The total score for aggression is the sum of these scale scores. Higher scores
indicate higher aggressive behavior.
Scoring
Scale Range
Physical Aggression (PA) 9-45
Verbal Aggression (VA) 5-25
Anger 7-35
Hostility 8-40
References
• AH Buss & MP Perry. The Aggression Questionnaire. 63 J Pers Soc
Psychol 452-459. 1992.
• G Felsten & V Hill. Aggression Questionnaire Hostility Scale Predicts
Anger in Response to Mistreatment. 37(1) Behav Res Ther 87-97.
1999.
References
Protocol Name from Source
• The Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire (BPAQ)
Source
• Buss, A. H., & Perry, M. (1992). The Aggression Questionnaire. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,
63(3), 452-459.
General References
• Bridge, J. A., McBee-Strayer, S. M., Cannon, E. A., Sheftall, A. H., Reynolds, B., Campo, J. V., Pajer, K. A.,
Barbe, R. P., & Brent, D. A. (2012). Impaired decision-making in adolescent suicide attempters. Journal of the
American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 51(4), 394-403.
• Doihara, C., Kawanishi. C., Yamada, T., Sato, R., Hasegawa, H., Furuno, T., Nakagawa, M., & Hirayasu Y.
(2008). Trait aggression in suicide attempters: A pilot study. Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, 62(3), 352-
354.
• Dougherty, D. M., Mathias, C. W., Marsh, D. M., Papageorgiou, T. D., Swann, A. C., & Moeller, G. F. (2004).
Laboratory measured behavioral impulsivity relates to suicide attempt history. Suicide and Life-Threatening
Behavior 34(4), 374-385.
• Gerevich, J., Bacskal, E., & Czobor, P. (2007). The generalizability of the Buss-Perry Aggression
Questionnaire. International Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research 16(3), 124-136.
