Objective:

The goal of the study was to validate an Angry Thoughts Scale for Adolescents, which has three factors: revenge (4 items, e.g., “I will make the other person suffer”), insulting or pejorative thoughts (5 items, e.g., “S/he is stupid”), and thoughts of control (10 items, e.g., “I will be patient”).

Method:

The sample had 522 adolescents (M age = 15.92, SD = 0.90); 213 men, and 309 women from a public school; they were recruited through intentional non-random sampling. The participants answered three instruments: The Angry Thoughts Scale for Adolescents, The Multicultural Inventory of Anger and Hostility (ML-STAXI) for Mexican Adolescents, and the Scale of Anger Expression with Physical Aggression. The design of the study is instrumental.

Results:

It was found, through confirmatory factor analysis and modification indexes, that the 3-factor model showed good fit (CFI = .912, SRMR = .046, RMSEA = .076). The reliability (Cronbach’s Alpha) was acceptable: .78, .86, and .92, respectively. Construct validity was satisfactory, since the scale was useful to distinguish between individuals with high and low scores in variables of anger, anger control, anger expression, and physical aggression toward people and toward objects. A gender difference was found in one of the three scales; women had more pejorative thoughts than men.

Conclusion:

The Angry Thoughts Scale for Adolescents is a reliable option with construct validity. It represents a starting point for research, assessment, and treatment of adolescents with anger problems.

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