Assessment of Anger-related Cognitions

Background Interventions for anger represent the largest body of research on the adaptation of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) for people with intellectual disabilities. The extent to which the effectiveness of these interventions reflects the behavioural or cognitive components of CBT is uncertain. This arises in part because there are few measures of anger-related cognitions. Method The Profile of Anger-related Cognitions (PAC) is built around interpersonal scenarios that the participant identifies as personally anger-provoking, and was designed as an extension of the Profile of Anger Coping Skills (PACS). A conversational presentational style is used to approach ratings of anger experienced in those situations and of four relevant cognitive dimensions: attribution of hostile intent, unfairness, victimhood, and helplessness. The PAC, and other measures, including the PACS, was administered to (i) people with ID identified as having problems with anger control (n=12) and (ii) university students (n=23); its psychometric properties were investigated and content analyses were conducted of participants’ verbal responses. In a third study, clinicians (n=6) were surveyed for their impression of using the PAC in the assessment of clients referred for help with anger problems.