Director: Eric R. Dahlen, Ph.D.
Attitudes Toward Anger Management Scale Soon to be Published
05/03/13 Anger
Evidence-based treatments for clinically dysfunctional anger have been available for some time; however, they are often designed for highly motivated individuals who acknowledge having a problem with anger and a desire for assistance. While some individuals with anger problems are motivated, many others are ambivalent about seeking or actively participating in treatment. The importance of assessing treatment motivation is evident to clinicians who provide anger management services, and measures of treatment readiness are beginning to appear.
Attitudes toward anger management services are likely to influence one's willingness to seek professional help for dysfunctional anger and impact the nature of the working alliance. Assessing attitudes toward these services may help us identify obstacles to help seeking and better engage angry clients early in treatment.
A paper based on David Boudreaux's master's thesis describing the development of the Attitudes Toward Anger Management Scale (ATAMS), a new measure designed to assess attitudes toward seeking professional help with problem anger, was just accepted for publication in Measurement and Evaluation in Counseling and Development. The paper describes the development and initial validation of the measure.
Additional work on the ATAMS is needed before the instrument can be recommended for use in clinical settings, but we are encouraged by the initial results and will soon begin collecting additional data.
The citation is below, and the paper is available in pre-release .pdf format by clicking on the title:
Boudreaux, D. J., Dahlen, E. R., Madson, M. B., Bullock-Yowell, E. (in press). Attitudes toward anger management scale: Development and initial validation. Measurement and Evaluation in Counseling and Development.
Attitudes toward anger management services are likely to influence one's willingness to seek professional help for dysfunctional anger and impact the nature of the working alliance. Assessing attitudes toward these services may help us identify obstacles to help seeking and better engage angry clients early in treatment.
A paper based on David Boudreaux's master's thesis describing the development of the Attitudes Toward Anger Management Scale (ATAMS), a new measure designed to assess attitudes toward seeking professional help with problem anger, was just accepted for publication in Measurement and Evaluation in Counseling and Development. The paper describes the development and initial validation of the measure.
Additional work on the ATAMS is needed before the instrument can be recommended for use in clinical settings, but we are encouraged by the initial results and will soon begin collecting additional data.
The citation is below, and the paper is available in pre-release .pdf format by clicking on the title:
Boudreaux, D. J., Dahlen, E. R., Madson, M. B., Bullock-Yowell, E. (in press). Attitudes toward anger management scale: Development and initial validation. Measurement and Evaluation in Counseling and Development.