Validation of the Novaco Anger Scale in an Incarcerated Offender Population

Abstract

Many attempts have been made to construct measures that assess different aspects of anger. The Novaco Anger Scale (NAS) was developed to assess anger and predict violent behavior. Validity research on the NAS to date has yielded promising results. However, few studies have examined the NAS among incarcerated offenders. The present study examined the psychometric properties of the NAS; investigated its relationships to anger, social desirability, and personality; and evaluated its factor dimensions using confirmatory factor analytic procedures in a sample of male and female incarcerated adults. Results indicated that the theoretically derived scales of the NAS demonstrated both reliability and validity in these groups of offenders. Furthermore, the correlations between the NAS and anger measures were significant. Limitations and suggestions for future research are discussed.