Authors
1 Master of General Psychology, Faculty of Educational Sciences and Psychology, Shahid Chamran University, Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran
2 Faculty member, Faculty of Educational Sciences and Psychology, Shahid Chamran University, Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran
Abstract
This study was launched to construct and validate a scale for measuring aggression in accordance with cultural values and social characteristics of Iranian people, and to examine the following four hypotheses: 1) There is a positive correlation between aggression and depression, 2) There is a positive correlation between aggression and Type A characteristics, 3) There is a positive correlation between aggression and migraine headache symptoms, and 4) There is a significant difference between male and female students’ scores on aggression. All three different samples of this study were randomly drawn from the undergraduate students taking various general courses of Shahid Chamran University (Ahvaz): Normative sample (N—550), test- retest sample (n=229), and validation study sample (n=215). Based on a factor analysis, a 30-item questionnaire entitled Ahvaz Aggression Inventery (AM) was developed to measure aggression, comprising three subscales: Rage and Anger (14 items), Assault and Insult (8 items), and Negativism (8 items). The internal consistency and test-retest reliability coefficients of AAJ were all satisfactory. Validity of AAI was found to be very high based on its concurrent administration with Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ), MMPI, and BDVI (a purpose- designed validity scale).
All four hypotheses of this Study were confirmed for the whole sample, as well as for the female and male samples separately. Regarding the first hypothesis, however, only the overall correlatton between aggression and depression was significant; The correlation between the second sub-scale and depression for the male subjects, as well as the correlation between the third sub- scale and depression for the male and female subjects were not found to be significant. Implications of these findings are discussed in detail.
Keywords
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