A cross-cultural study of the psychometric properties of the Reactive-Proactive Aggression Questionnaire among Italian nonclinical adolescents

Psychol Assess. 2009 Mar;21(1):131-135. doi: 10.1037/a0014743.

Abstract

Five independent studies were used to test the hypothesis that a reliable 2-factor structure underlies the Reactive-Proactive Aggression Questionnaire (RPQ) items and that the 2 scales show distinct patterns of association with personality and bullying behavior measures. Study 1 (N = 1,447) gave evidence of a clear 2-factor structure of RPQ items with factor loading matrices closely matching reactive (congruence coefficient = .90) and proactive (congruence coefficient = .91) models of item assignment. The RPQ 2-factor structure was consistently replicated in Study 2 (N = 662), as well as across the remaining 3 studies. In Study 3 (N = 536), Neuroticism differentiated reactive and proactive forms of aggression. In Study 4 (N = 674), self-reports of bullying behaviors were selectively correlated with proactive aggression. Findings confirm and extend the differential correlates of proactive-reactive aggression and also support the psychometric properties of the RPQ in a different cultural context. Finally, in Study 5 (N = 347), the RPQ scales showed adequate 2-month test-retest reliability. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved).

Publication types

  • Evaluation Study

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adolescent Behavior / psychology
  • Aggression / psychology*
  • Cross-Cultural Comparison*
  • Dominance-Subordination
  • Factor Analysis, Statistical
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Italy / epidemiology
  • Male
  • Personality Disorders / diagnosis*
  • Personality Inventory / standards*
  • Personality Inventory / statistics & numerical data*
  • Psychometrics
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Self Disclosure
  • Surveys and Questionnaires / standards*