Clinical Anger Scale
Use the clinical anger scale to know if your patient has clinical anger or is responding well to their anger treatment. Click here to know more.
Fact Checked by Nate Lacson.
What is the Clinical Anger Scale?
The is a self-report measurement questionnaire created by Snell, Moseley, and Hite in 1995. It has 21 objective statements of their feelings towards different things, situations, or circumstances. Clients will be asked to rate their behavior, determine how invasive their anger is to various aspects of their life, and identify how much and which makes them feel angry. Though it’s a questionnaire not meant to be used as the sole basis of clinical anger diagnosis, it can still be used as one of the resources or tools for diagnosis and treatment.
Obtaining useful information from the clinical anger scale requires the practitioner to provide a copy to the patient and get a final score to be interpreted.
Here’s a quick 101 on how to score and obtain a final score:
- The letters represent a 4-point Likert scale wherein each letter has an assigned value. A is zero, B is one, C is two, and D is 3.
- You must add up the values depending on the patient's answer.
- The final score is the sum of the obtained values.
Interpretation, on the other hand, is as follows:
- 0 - 13 = Minimal Clinical Anger
- 14 - 19 = Mild Clinical Anger
- 20 - 28 = Moderate Clinical Anger
- 29 - 63 = Severe Clinical Anger
Printable Clinical Anger Scale
Download this Clinical Anger Scale to assess your clients.
How to use the Clinical Anger Scale:
Access and Download the Template
Access and download our printable clinical anger scale template by either:
- Clicking the “Use Template” or “Download Template” button above
- Searching “Clinical Anger Scale” in Carepatron’s template library on our website or app
Explain the Questionnaire
Though instructions are provided on the template, it’s best to explain how to answer the questionnaire to the client. To add, you may stay within the vicinity of the patient just in case they have any questions or clarifications.
Answer the Questionnaire
Once they understand how to answer the questionnaire, provide them with a copy. Don’t forget to request their honesty and assure them they can take as long as needed.
Compute the Score and Interpret
After they’re done with their part, it’s time for you to compute and interpret the score. For a guide on how to do both, refer to the first section: “What is a Clinical Anger Scale?”
Proceed with the Next Steps
If they have a score that signifies mild to severe clinical anger, we recommend you talk to your client about the next steps, such as therapy or anger management sessions.
Clinical Anger Scale Example
We created a Clinical Anger Scale sample completed by a fictional client with severe clinical anger. You can use this example by giving it to your clients so they know how to complete the questionnaire. Furthermore, you can also use this example to gain insight into how to compute the score and interpret the final score.
Feel free to download our Clinical Anger scale sample in PDF format for educational purposes or as an offline reference by viewing our example below or clicking the “Download Example PDF” button above.
Download this Clinical Anger Scale Example:
When would you use this Clinical Anger Scale?
Practitioners with clients who show symptoms of clinical anger can use this clinical anger scale template to:
- Understand their clients better
- Formulate a treatment plan
- Track the progress of the patient
- See the effectiveness of a particular treatment based on the client’s response
- Identify individuals whose anger is bordering on clinical or those who are at risk of developing this disorder in various settings like school, prison, and mental facilities.
What are the benefits of using this Clinical Anger Scale?
Know More about the Client
With the free clinical anger scale template, practitioners can learn more about the patient and the roots and causes of their anger. Furthermore, they’ll know how severe the disorder's symptoms are so they may intervene as soon as possible.
Track Progress
If the patient is already in the middle of their treatment plan, the scale can be used as a basis and a document to see the effectiveness of the treatment through, hopefully, their progress.
High Validity and Reliability
According to Snell, Gum, Mosley, and Hite, the scale is valid and reliable because it “demonstrated adequate internal consistency and test-retest stability.”
References
Snell, W. E., Jr, Gum, S., Shuck, R. L., Mosley, J. A., & Hite, T. L. (1995). The Clinical Anger Scale: preliminary reliability and validity. Journal of clinical psychology, 51(2), 215–226. https://doi.org/10.1002/1097-4679(199503)51:2<215::aid-jclp2270510211>3.0.co;2-z
Commonly asked questions
It normally takes less than an hour to accomplish the Clinical Anger Scale.
You can interpret the findings using the scoring guide provided in your template and at the start of this guide. Aside from the scoring guide, you will only need the total score obtained from the template.
Medical practitioners can use the clinical anger scale, especially mental health specialists like therapists, psychologists, and psychiatrists who help clients manage their anger or treat patients with clinical anger.
