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Development of the Anger Children’s Cognitive Error Scale and the Anger Children’s Automatic Thought Scale

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 June 2022

Kohei Kishida*
Affiliation:
Organization for Research Initiatives and Development, Doshisha University, 1-3, Tatara Miyakodani, Kyotanabe-shi, Kyoto, Japan Faculty of Psychology, Doshisha University, 1-3, Tatara Miyakodani, Kyotanabe-shi, Kyoto, Japan
Masaya Takebe
Affiliation:
Faculty of Psychology, Rissho University, 4-2-16, Osaki, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo, Japan
Chisato Kuribayashi
Affiliation:
Tokyo Women’s College of Physical Education, 4-30-1, Fujimidai, Kunitachi-city, Tokyo, Japan
Yuichi Tanabe
Affiliation:
School Counselor, Nara Prefectural Board of Education, 22-1, Hatanosyo, Tawaramoto-cho shiki-gun, Nara, Japan
Shin-ichi Ishikawa
Affiliation:
Faculty of Psychology, Doshisha University, 1-3, Tatara Miyakodani, Kyotanabe-shi, Kyoto, Japan
*
*Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]

Abstract

Background:

Empirical studies between anger and anger-provoking cognitive variables in children and adolescents are lacking, despite numerous studies on internalising and externalising problems.

Aim:

The purpose of this study was to develop new questionnaires for anger-provoking cognitive errors and automatic thoughts, and examine relationships between anger, cognitive errors, and automatic thoughts in children and adolescents.

Method:

Participants were 485 Japanese children and adolescents aged 9–15 years old (254 females; average age 12.07; SD = 1.81). They completed the Anger Children’s Cognitive Error Scale (A-CCES) and the Anger Children’s Automatic Thought Scale (A-CATS), which were developed in this study, as well as the Anger Scale for Children and Adolescents and the Japanese version of Short Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale.

Results:

Both the A-CCES and the A-CATS had adequate reliability (internal consistency) and validity (face validity, structural validity and construct validity). A hierarchal regression analysis indicated that automatic thoughts were positively and moderately related to anger (β = .37) after controlling for age, gender, anxiety symptoms, cognitive errors and interaction term. Moreover, a mediation analysis indicated that automatic thoughts significantly mediated the relationship between cognitive errors and anger (indirect effect, 0.24; 95% CI: .020 to .036).

Conclusions:

This study developed the new questionnaires to assess anger-provoking cognitive errors and automatic thoughts. In addition, this study revealed that automatic thoughts rather than cognitive errors are associated with anger in children and adolescents.

Type
Main
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies

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