Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire: Factor Structure and Measurement Invariance Among Portuguese Male Perpetrators of Intimate Partner Violence

DOI10.1177/00938548211050113
Date01 March 2022
Published date01 March 2022
Subject MatterArticles
CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND BEHAVIOR, 2022, Vol. 49, No. 3, March 2022, 451 –467.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/00938548211050113
Article reuse guidelines: sagepub.com/journals-permissions
© 2021 International Association for Correctional and Forensic Psychology
451
BUSS-PERRY AGGRESSION QUESTIONNAIRE
Factor Structure and Measurement Invariance Among
Portuguese Male Perpetrators of Intimate Partner
Violence
OLGA CUNHA
Lusófona University, HEI-Lab
MANUELA PEIXOTO
Lusíada University of Porto
ANA RITA CRUZ
Lusófona University, HEI-Lab
RUI ABRUNHOSA GONÇALVES
University of Minho
This study aimed to analyze the fit of the four-factor model of the 29-item and 12-item Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire
(BPAQ) on a sample of Portuguese male perpetrators of intimate partner violence (IPV; N = 279) and to test the measurement
invariance between sample type (forensic and non-forensic) and sentence type (prison and community). Confirmatory factor
analysis (CFA) did not support the four-factor model of the BPAQ 29-item version. The four-factor model of the BPAQ–short
form (BPAQ-SF) showed a good fit. Sufferable values for internal consistency and good values for convergent and discrimi-
nant validity were found. Cross-sentence measurement invariance using the present sample and cross-sample measurement
invariance of the BPAQ-SF using a previously collected sample of students was established. Overall, our results support
BPAQ-SF as a valuable brief and psychometrically reliable measure of aggression for use with both individuals from the com-
munity and IPV perpetrators with different sentences.
Keywords: aggression; factorial structure; intimate partner violence; measurement invariance; psychometric properties
Aggression is considered a personality characteristic of paramount importance for clini-
cal and forensic contexts (i.e., correctional contexts and populations) and research
purposes (Gallardo-Pujol et al., 2006; Harris, 1995). One of the most widely accepted
AUTHORS’ NOTE: This study was conducted at Psychology Research Centre (UID/PSI/01662/2013),
University of Minho, and supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology and the
Portuguese Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education through national funds and co-financed by
FEDER through COMPETE2020 under the PT2020 Partnership Agreement (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007653).
The study was also supported by Grant SFRH/ BD/66110/2009 from the Portuguese Foundation for Science
and Technology awarded to the first author. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to
Olga Cunha, Faculty of Psychology, Education, and Sports, Lusófona University of Porto, Rua Augusto Rosa
24, Porto 4000-098, Portugal; e-mail: olga.cunha@ulp.pt.
1050113CJBXXX10.1177/00938548211050113Criminal Justice and BehaviorCunha et al. / Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire
research-article2022
452 CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND BEHAVIOR
definitions in the scientific community is that of Buss (1961) who defines aggression as “a
response that delivers noxious stimuli to another organism” (p. 1). This definition was later
expanded to include the perpetrator’s intent and conceptualizes aggression as any behavior
directed toward another person with the intent to cause harm (Anderson & Bushman, 2002).
The term aggression is often used interchangeably with hostility and anger, representing
behavioral, cognitive, and emotional components of a more complex concept (e.g., Buss &
Perry, 1992). Physical and verbal aggression represent the instrumental or motor compo-
nents of behavior. Anger involves physiological arousal and represents the emotional or
affective component of the behavior. In addition, hostility consists of feelings of injustice
and represents the cognitive component of behavior (Buss & Perry, 1992).
Aggressiveness influences whether and how an individual behaves violently. Previous
studies found that aggression allows differentiation between violent and nonviolent indi-
viduals who commit crimes (e.g., Cruz et al., 2019; Helfritz et al., 2006) and is associated
with violence persistence (e.g., Serin et al., 2009) and with a greater risk of reoffending
(Martin et al., 2019). Hostility and anger have also been associated with violence (Camlibel
et al., 2021; Kolla et al., 2016) and reoffending (van der Put et al., 2012). Overall, aggres-
sion is a significant risk factor for various forms of antisocial behavior, including intimate
partner violence (IPV; e.g., Ruddle et al., 2017; Stith et al., 2004). In general, the findings
of various studies supported the theoretical implications of aggression and its sub-traits to
IPV. Several studies showed a high prevalence of trait aggression among IPV perpetrators
(e.g., Archer, 2000; Clements et al., 2018). Literature also showed that IPV perpetrators
tend to exhibit higher levels of hostility and anger than non-perpetrators (e.g., Eckhardt
et al., 1997; Norlander & Eckhardt, 2005; Schumacher et al., 2001; Stith et al., 2004). Also,
anger and hostility are associated with physical violence (Schumacher et al., 2001) and IPV
(Birkley & Eckhardt, 2015; Stith et al., 2004). Notably, anger has been suggested as a trait
significantly correlated with IPV perpetration (e.g., Dannisworo et al., 2019; Eckhardt
et al., 1997).
Overall, empirical literature suggested that trait aggressiveness is related to IPV offend-
ing and IPV reoffending. Thus, accurate assessment of this construct using valid instru-
ments is essential to understanding IPV and to develop practical assessment and treatment
and prevention strategies for IPV perpetrators (e.g., Birkley & Eckhardt, 2015; Norlander
& Eckhardt, 2005).
THE BUSS-PERRY AGGRESSION QUESTIONNAIRE (BPAQ)
Buss and Perry (1992) developed and tested the Aggression Questionnaire (BPAQ) in a
sample of 1,253 college students in introductory psychology courses. BPAQ consists of 29
items and aims to assess four major aspects of aggression: Physical Aggression, Verbal
Aggression, Anger, and Hostility (Buss & Perry, 1992). In the original version, the CFA
revealed a good fit of the four-factor model and adequate reliability for the four subscales
and the total score (Buss & Perry, 1992). The BPAQ has been translated and validated in
several languages, such as Greek (Vitoratou et al., 2009), Turkish (Demirtas-Madran, 2012),
Dutch (Hornsveld et al., 2009), Spanish (Morales-Vives et al., 2005), Japanese (Nakano,
2001; Ramirez et al., 2001), Chinese (Maxwell, 2007), Italian (Fossati et al., 2003), Swedish
(Prochazka & Agren, 2001), European Portuguese (Cunha & Gonçalves, 2012; Simões,
1993), and others.

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT