Psychometric Examination of an Arabic Version of the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory

Objectives: This study aimed to examine the psychometric properties of an Arabic version of the trait anger and anger expression scales of the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory (STAXI). Methods: This study took place between April 2005 and August 2014. Adults in Yemen (n = 334) and Tunisia (n = 200) were recruited from university campuses and a smoking cessation clinic, respectively. The STAXI was translated into Arabic using backtranslation methods. An explanatory principal component analysis was conducted to explore the factor structure of the anger expression scale, utilising parallel analyses to determine the number of retained factors. Results: Good internal consistency of the trait anger scale was observed among the Yemeni (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.76) and Tunisian (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.86) samples. The parallel analysis suggested a three-factor solution for the anger expression scale (anger in, anger out and anger control), in accordance with the original STAXI. The internal consistency of anger in, anger out and anger control factors ranged between 0.51–0.79 in the Yemeni sample and 0.66–0.81 in the Tunisian sample. Overall, items loaded on the anger control factor included all items proposed by the original authors and this factor had higher reliability than the other two factors in both samples. Conclusion: The results of the current study provide initial support for the use of the trait anger and anger expression scales of the STAXI in Arabic-speaking countries. Keywords: Psychometrics; Anger; Reliability and Validity; Translations; Yemen; Tunisia.