Validation and Application of the French Version of the Aggressive Provocation Questionnaire: Gender and Age Differences in Aggression

Farzaneh Pahlavan, Ali Amirrezvani, Daryl B. O’Connor

Department of Marine Sciences, University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez, Mayagüez, USA.
Institute of Psychological Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK.
Laboratoire de Psychologie Sociale, Université Paris 5-René Descartes, Paris, France.

DOI: 10.4236/psych.2012.312155                

Abstract

The Aggressive Provocation Questionnaire (APQ) (O’Connor, Archer, & Wu, 2001) was developed based on Frijda’s modular theory of emotions (1988), in order to provide researchers with an effective measure of aggressive tendencies in men. The aim of the current paper is to 1) describe the development and validation of the French version of the APQ-12; and 2) for the first time, examine its psychometric properties in a female sample. Two samples of men and women (Study 1: N = 132, male = 54, female = 78; ages 17 - 24 years; Study 2: N = 302, male = 143, female = 159; ages 19 - 59 years) completed the APQ-12 in a French population. The first study concerned the internal consistency/convergent validity of the French version of the APQ, and also examined temporal stability of the measures. The second study investigated the effects of age and gender on aggressive tendencies. The psychometric properties from first study were then compared to those reported by O’Connor et al. (2001). The psychometric properties of the two scales were similar, and the scores on the APQ were also positively correlated with those on the AQ and the Trait-Anger Scales. The results also provided evidence for temporal stability of the French version of the APQ. However, the results from second study contradicted popular views about the effects of age and gender on aggressive tendencies. Analysis of the interaction of gender with age category indicated exceptionally high aggressive responses by young women (19 - 25 years old) and middle-aged men (26 - 44 years old).

Keywords

Aggressive Behavior; Anger; Scenario Measure; Gender; Age

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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