REVISED ATTITUDES TOWARDS VIOLENCE SCALE: Scoring version

The Revised Attitudes Towards Violence Scale (RATS) is a self–report measure designed to assess attitudes towards violence. It is composed of 40 items that measure four distinct subscales: acceptance of violence, aggression, justification of violence, and perceived consequences of violence. The items are rated on a 5–point Likert scale that ranges from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). The acceptance of violence subscale measures the extent to which an individual is willing to accept the use of violence in certain situations. The aggression subscale measures the extent to which an individual believes that aggressive behavior is a valid way of resolving conflicts. The justification of violence subscale measures the extent to which an individual believes that violence is justified in certain situations. Finally, the perceived consequences of violence subscale measures the extent to which an individual believes that violence has negative consequences. The RATS has been used in numerous studies to assess attitudes towards violence in different populations, including adolescents, college students, and adults. It has been found to have good reliability and validity, and has been used to predict aggressive behavior. The RATS can be used to identify individuals who are at risk for engaging in violent behavior, as well as to assess the effectiveness of interventions designed to reduce violent behavior.

This version was first published in Anderson‚ C.A.‚ Benjamin‚ A.J.‚ Wood‚ P.K.‚ & Bonacci‚ A.M. (2006). Development and testing of the Velicer Attitudes Toward Violence Scale: Evidence for a four-factor model. Aggressive Behavior‚ 32‚ 122-136.