Behavioral Anger Response Questionnaire (BARQ)

The Behavioral Anger Response Questionnaire (BARQ) is a psychological assessment tool designed to evaluate an individuals anger responses and behaviors. The questionnaire is used to identify how an individual responds to and manages anger, as well as how they perceive the consequences of their responses. Developed by Dr. Ronald PotterEfron and Dr. Patricia PotterEfron, the BARQ is a useful tool for psychologists, psychiatrists, and other mental health professionals in assessing an individuals anger levels and responses. The BARQ consists of 35 questions that can be answered on a fivepoint scale fromstrongly disagree tostrongly agree. The questions are designed to assess an individuals anger responses and behaviors, including how they express their anger, how they perceive the consequences of their anger, and how they manage their anger. The questionnaire also evaluates an individuals attitudes towards anger and how they perceive their own anger. The results of the BARQ can provide valuable insights into an individuals anger responses and behaviors. It can help mental health professionals identify potential areas of concern and develop an appropriate treatment plan. Additionally, the BARQ can be used to track an individuals progress over time. The BARQ is a useful tool for mental health professionals in assessing an individuals anger levels and responses. It can provide valuable insights into an individuals anger responses and behaviors, and can help mental health professionals develop an appropriate treatment plan.

Direct Anger-out

1.    I say something nasty to the person who made me angry
2.    I use strong gestures (for example‚ make a fist‚ wave my arms‚ or give a hand sign)
3.    I swear‚ or curse at the person who made me angry
4.    I hit or push the person who made me angry
5.    I express my anger by slamming a door‚ or hitting something
6.    I shout
Assertion
7.    I wait until I am calm again and then talk to the person who made me angry
8.    I carefully think it over and then tell the person who made me angry how I feel
9.    In a calm voice‚ I tell the person who made me angry how I honestly feel
10.I try to understand what happened‚ so I can explain things to the person who made me angry
11.I stay calm‚ and I try to talk about the problem with the person who made me angry
12.I leave the situation in order to calm down‚ and then try to solve the problem
Social support-seeking
13.I do not show my anger but I talk about what happened with someone afterwards
14.I leave the situation and look for someone who will agree with me
15.I leave the situation‚ find someone to listen to my story‚ and ask for advice
16.I think about the problem first and then talk about it with someone
17.I leave the situation and call a friend or family member to tell him/her how I feel
18.Even without planning it‚ I usually end up talking about my feelings with someone
Diffusion
19.I get rid of my anger by playing music‚ writing‚ or painting
20.I just keep busy‚ until I stop feeling angry
21.I work off my anger by doing some sport
22.I stay on my own to get rid of my anger
23.I simply get very busy with other things to get rid of my anger
24.I work off my anger by doing something else‚ like playing on the computer
Avoidance
25.I tell myself that what happened is not important.
26.I try to forget what happened
27.I put what happened out of my mind
28.I do not want to have to cause trouble‚ so I keep my feelings to myself just wait to feel better
29. I just wait to feel better
30.I try to keep busy so I can forget about what happened
Rumination
31.I keep thinking about what I wish I had done‚ but didn‟t do
32.I find it hard to stop thinking about what happened
33.I am upset for a long time after this kind of situation
34.In my mind‚ I go over the situation that made me angry again and again
 
Direct Anger-out
1.    In an angry way I tell the person who made me angry exactly how I feel
2.    I say something nasty to the person who made me angry
3.    I use strong gestures (for example‚ make a fist‚ wave my arms‚ or give a hand sign)
4.    I swear‚ or curse at the person who made me angry
5.    I hit or push the person who made me angry
6.    I express my anger by slamming a door‚ or hitting something
7.    I shout
Assertion
8.    I wait until I am calm again and then talk to the person who made me angry
9.    I carefully think it over and then tell the person who made me angry how I feel
10.In a calm voice‚ I tell the person who made me angry how I honestly feel
11.I try to understand what happened‚ so I can explain things to the person who made me angry
12.I stay calm‚ and I try to talk about the problem with the person who made me angry
13.I leave the situation in order to calm down‚ and then try to solve the problem
Social support-seeking
14.I do not show my anger but I talk about what happened with someone afterwards
15.I leave the situation and look for someone who will agree with me
16.I leave the situation‚ find someone to listen to my story‚ and ask for advice
17.I think about the problem first and then talk about it with someone
18.I leave the situation and call a friend or family member to tell him/her how I feel
19.Even without planning it‚ I usually end up talking about my feelings with someone
Diffusion
20.I get rid of my anger by playing music‚ writing‚ or painting
21.I just keep busy‚ until I stop feeling angry
22.I work off my anger by doing some sport
23.I stay on my own to get rid of my anger
24.I simply get very busy with other things to get rid of my anger
25.I work off my anger by doing something else‚ like playing on the computer
Avoidance
26.I tell myself that what happened is not important
27.I try to forget what happened
28.I put what happened out of my mind
29.I do not want to have to cause trouble‚ so I keep my feelings to myself just wait to feel better
30. I just wait to feel better
31.I try to keep busy so I can forget about what happened
Rumination
32.I try to understand why I got upset
33.I imagine how I could get even with the person who made me angry
34.I keep thinking about what I wish I had done‚ but didn‟t do
35.I find it hard to stop thinking about what happened
36.I am upset for a long time after this kind of situation
37.In my mind‚ I go over the situation that made me angry again and again
 
1.1. I wait until I am calm again and then talk to the person who made me angry
2.1. In an angry way I tell the person who made me angry exactly how I feel
3.1. I do not show my anger but I talk about what happened with someone afterwards
4.1. I try to understand why I got upset
­5.1. I tell myself that what happened is not important
6.1. I get rid of my anger by playing music‚ writing‚ or painting
­7.1. I usually do not get angry
8.1. I think that it is not good to be angry
1.2. I carefully think it over and then tell the person who made me angry how I feel
2.2. I say something nasty to the person who made me angry
3.2. I leave the situation and look for someone who will agree with me
4.2. I imagine how I could get even with the person who made me angry
5.2. I try to forget what happened
6.2. I just keep busy‚ until I stop feeling angry
7.2. Even when the other person gets angry with me‚ I stay calm
8.2. I am shocked when other people act angrily
1.3. In a calm voice‚ I tell the person who made me angry how I honestly feel
2.3. I use strong gestures (for example‚ make a fist‚ wave my arms‚ or give a hand sign)
3.3. I leave the situation‚ find someone to listen to my story‚ and ask for advice
4.3. I keep thinking about what I wish I had done‚ but didn’t do
5.3. I put what happened out of my mind
6.3. I work off my anger by doing some sport
7.3. I don’t get angry when other people do nasty things
8.3. I can get scared of my own anger
1.4. I try to understand what happened‚ so I can explain things to the person who made me angry
2.4. I swear‚ or curse at the person who made me angry
3.4. I think about the problem first and then talk about it with someone
4.4. I find it hard to stop thinking about what happened
5.4. I do not want to have to cause trouble‚ so I keep my feelings to myself
6.4. I stay on my own to get rid of my anger
7.4. Things that make other people angry‚ don’t make me angry
8.4. I try to avoid quarrels or arguments
1.5. I stay calm‚ and I try to talk about the problem with the person who made me angry
2.5. I hit or push the person who made me angry
3.5. I leave the situation and call a friend or family member to tell him/her how I feel
4.5. I am upset for a long time after this kind of situation
5.5. I just wait to feel better
6.5. I simply get very busy with other things to get rid of my anger
7.5. Other people get angry‚ but not me
8.5. We don’t act angrily in our family
1.6. I leave the situation in order to calm down‚ and then try to solve the problem
2.6. I express my anger by slamming a door‚ or hitting something
3.6. Even without planning it‚ I usually end up talking about my feelings with someone
4.6. In my mind‚ I go over the situation that made me angry again and again
5.6. I try to keep busy so I can forget about what happened
6.6. I work off my anger by doing something else‚ like playing on the computer
8.6. When I get angry‚ everything feels out of control
2.7. I shout
8.7. When I am angry‚ I feel like crying
8.8. It is difficult not to cry when I am angry
 
Direct-anger-out‚ assertion‚ diffusion‚ avoidant coping‚ rumination‚ support seeking
Mean α = .76‚ range .65 to .85
 
1 = not true‚ 2 = sometimes true‚ 3 = often true
 

Linden‚ W.‚ Hogan‚ B. E.‚ Rutledge‚ T.‚ Chawla‚ A.‚ Lenz‚ J. W.‚ & Leung‚ D. (2003). There ismore to anger coping than “in” or “out”. Emotion‚ 3(1)‚ 12-29.

Miers‚ A.C.‚ Rieffe‚ C.‚ Meerum Terwogt‚ M.‚ Cowan‚ R. & Linden‚ W. (2007). The relation between anger coping strategies‚ anger mood and somatic complaints in children and adolescents. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology‚ 35‚ 653-664.

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