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Adolescent Anger Instrument (AAI): Measuring anger Expressions among Adolescents

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Identifying specific symptoms or signs of anger is a challenge because there are various styles of anger expression. The identification of these symptoms or signs is essential in determining proper psychological and physical intervention. This article introduces the Adolescent Anger Instrument (AAI) developed to fulfill the need for early identification of symptoms or signs of anger in school settings. Specifically, AAI was designed to identify the tendency of specific anger expressions. The first phase of the research involved 5402 school students, aged between 13 to 19, followed by another 3357 in the second phase. Three types of anger expressions identified were (i) anger-out (physical and verbal aggression), (ii) anger-in (passive) and (iii) anger-control (extrinsic and intrinsic). The reliability is 0.79 during the first phase and 0.84 in the second phase of research. Depending on the type of anger expressed, an action plan and early intervention management can be performed towards individual students or groups of students. This could include school-wide preemptive and preventive measures to counter the impact of uncontrolled anger among students.
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