The Anger Expression Scale for Children: Initial Validation among Healthy Children and Children with Cancer

healthy children and those with cancer, and to examine correlations between AESC subscales and other indicators of anger and hostility. Method A total of 803 children from two independent studies of healthy and ill children (mean age 12.7, SD 3.1) completed the AESC and other measures of anger expression and hostility, and a sub-sample of 298 of their parents completed measures of anger expression and hostility. Results Results provided initial support for the proposed four-factor model of the AESC (Trait Anger, Anger Expression, Anger In, and Anger Control). Measurement invariance was established across groups using a series of nested tests. Correlations between AESC subscales and parent- and child-reported indices of anger, hostility, and aggression support the convergent validity of the scales. Conclusions Analyses sup-ported the construct validity of the AESC and generalization of the factor structure across healthy and chronically ill children. Key words anger expression; childhood cancer; measurement. The propensities to become angry and to express anger have been identified as important factors in physical and psychological health in children and adults (Broman & Jackson, 1988; Kerr & Schneider, 2008). As reviewed by Kerr and Schneider, anger expression in children has been associated with a number of negative health and mental health outcomes, including elevated blood pressure, psychosomatic symptoms, poor perceived health, depres-sion, aggression, and externalizing problems (Hagglun