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Initial Validation of a Knowledge-Based Measure of Social Information Processing and Anger Management

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Abstract

Over the past fifteen years many schools have utilized aggression prevention programs. Despite these apparent advances, many programs are not examined systematically to determine the areas in which they are most effective. One reason for this is that many programs, especially those in urban under-resourced areas, do not utilize outcome measures that are sensitive to the needs of ethnic minority students. The current study illustrates how a new knowledge-based measure of social information processing and anger management techniques was designed through a partnership-based process to ensure that it would be sensitive to the needs of urban, predominately African American youngsters, while also having broad potential applicability for use as an outcome assessment tool for aggression prevention programs focusing upon social information processing. The new measure was found to have strong psychometric properties within a sample of urban predominately African American youth, as item analyses suggested that almost all items discriminate well between more and less knowledgeable individuals, that the test-retest reliability of the measure is strong, and that the measure appears to be sensitive to treatment changes over time. In addition, the overall score of this new measure is moderately associated with attributions of hostility on two measures (negative correlations) and demonstrates a low to moderate negative association with peer and teacher report measures of overt and relational aggression. More research is needed to determine the measure’s utility outside of the urban school context.

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Notes

  1. See Measures section on page 7 for a more complete description of the Knowledge of Anger Problem Solving (KAPS) Measure, and the finalized measure is contained in the Appendix.

  2. Forty youth completed the test at time period one. The first twenty participants were selected to participate in the re-test administration. Eighteen of these 20 youth were available on the dates of the re-test administration.

  3. This standard terminology should not be confused with the p-value associated with significance testing.

  4. The partial eta 2 is equivalent to a Cohen’s d of 0.88, which is also considered a large effect (Cohen 1998).

  5. Given that the correlations between grade and total score of the KAPS at pre- (r = 0.14) and post-intervention (r = 0.01) is relatively small, we decided that it was unnecessary to conduct a covariate analysis.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by three NIMH grants to the first author, K23-MH01728, R34MH072982, R01MH075787. This research was made possible, in part, by the School District of Philadelphia. Opinions contained in this report reflect those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the School District of Philadelphia.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and The University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Stephen S. Leff, Michael Cassano, Julie Paquette MacEvoy & Tracy Costigan

  2. The Philadelphia Collaborative Violence Prevention Center, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Stephen S. Leff & Julie Paquette MacEvoy

  3. Boston College, Boston, MA, USA

    Julie Paquette MacEvoy

  4. Department of Pediatric Psychology, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Rm. 1480 at CHOP North; 3405 Civic Center Blvd., Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA

    Stephen S. Leff

Authors
  1. Stephen S. Leff
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  2. Michael Cassano
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  3. Julie Paquette MacEvoy
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  4. Tracy Costigan
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Stephen S. Leff.

Appendix

Appendix

Knowledge Measure—Girls Version

Circle the best answer while we read each question out loud to you.

  1. 1.

    If you can’t tell if someone did something on purpose, what is the best thing to do?

    1. a.

      Tell the person to leave you alone.

    2. b.

      Assume it was an accident.

    3. c.

      Tell the teacher.

    4. d.

      Start a rumor about the other person.

  2. 2.

    If you hear that other kids are spreading rumors about your classmate (that is, talking about her behind her back or saying mean things about her), what is the best thing you can do?

    1. a.

      Tell the kids that you are going to fight them if they don’t stop spreading rumors.

    2. b.

      Ignore it.

    3. c.

      Tell the kids, “I’m not going to be mean. I’m not going to spread rumors.”

    4. d.

      Spread a rumor about them to get back at them.

  3. 3.

    Which of the following is the best way to stay calm (not get upset) if someone is mean to you?

    1. a.

      Stomp your feet.

    2. b.

      Hit a pillow.

    3. c.

      Count to 10.

    4. d.

      Tell an adult.

  4. 4.

    At recess your friends are playing ball but you want to play tag with them. What is the best way to get them to stop playing ball and play tag instead?

    1. a.

      Tell them that tag is much more fun than playing ball.

    2. b.

      Take the ball from them so that they will have to play tag with you.

    3. c.

      Wait until they seem tired of playing ball, and then ask them to play tag.

    4. d.

      Hang around and see if someone else suggests playing tag.

  5. 5.

    Ariel is standing in line in the lunchroom. Kim bumps into her from behind. Ariel feels really angry. What should Ariel do next?

    1. a.

      Try to calm down and think about what to do.

    2. b.

      Tell the teacher.

    3. c.

      Push Kim back.

    4. d.

      Say to Kim, “Watch where you’re going!”

  6. 6.

    If you have an argument with your best friend, what is the best way to deal with it?

    1. a.

      Just ignore it and the argument will probably go away.

    2. b.

      Tell other kids not to be friends with her.

    3. c.

      Tell her that you want to fight at recess.

    4. d.

      Think about what her side of the story is.

  7. 7.

    In the lunch room one of the kids says there is not room at the table for you. How can you tell whether this kid is being mean or not?

    1. a.

      Ask other kids at the table what they think.

    2. b.

      Look at the kid’s face and body to learn more about the situation.

    3. c.

      Ask an adult for help.

    4. d.

      Tell the kid that you should be able to sit at the table and see if the kid lets you.

  8. 8.

    You want to play dodgeball during recess. The game has already started. What should you do?

    1. a.

      Wait until the game has stopped, and then ask if you can play.

    2. b.

      Watch the game until the other kids notice you.

    3. c.

      Jump into the game as soon as possible.

    4. d.

      Ask an adult to tell the other kids to let you play.

  9. 9.

    When you’re having an argument (or disagreement), what is the best reason to pay attention to the other kid’s face and body?

    1. a.

      So you can tell the teacher exactly what happens.

    2. b.

      Because you need to be ready to fight.

    3. c.

      Because it can help you figure out how she is feeling.

    4. d.

      So you can make fun of her.

  10. 10.

    Which of the following is the best way to stay out of a fight?

    1. a.

      Only play with the kids you know at recess.

    2. b.

      Don’t back down if someone is messing with you.

    3. c.

      Make sure to sit with your friends at the lunch table.

    4. d.

      Stop and think before you do things.

  11. 11.

    What is the best way to keep calm (not get upset) in an argument?

    1. a.

      Walk away from the situation.

    2. b.

      Take deep breaths.

    3. c.

      Talk to a friend.

    4. d.

      Talk to an adult.

  12. 12.

    Crystal bumps into Amber in the hallway. When Amber looks at Crystal, Crystal has a surprised look on her face. Do you think Crystal bumped Amber:

    1. a.

      On Purpose.

    2. b.

      By Accident.

    3. c.

      I don’t know.

  13. 13.

    A kid from another classroom is bullying your friend. What is the best way that you could help stop the bullying?

    1. a.

      Look for something else to do.

    2. b.

      Ignore it.

    3. c.

      Talk to an adult about it.

    4. d.

      Tell the bully that if she doesn’t leave your friend alone, she’ll have to fight you.

  14. 14.

    You are waiting to play a game on the playground. Someone cuts in line in front of you. What should you do first?

    1. a.

      Get back your place in line.

    2. b.

      Ask the other kid why she cut in line.

    3. c.

      Tell an adult.

    4. d.

      Figure out how you are feeling before doing anything.

  15. 15.

    Brittany tells you a secret: she is wearing dirty clothes because she did not have anything clean to wear. You tell the secret to some other kids. What do you think will happen next?

    1. a.

      Brittany’s feelings will be hurt.

    2. b.

      Nothing. Brittany is probably used to having other kids tell her secrets.

    3. c.

      Brittany will be sorry that she has told other kids’ secrets before.

    4. d.

      Nothing. Brittany probably won’t find out.

Answer Key:

  1. (1)

    b

  2. (2)

    c

  3. (3)

    c

  4. (4)

    c

  5. (5)

    a

  6. (6)

    d

  7. (7)

    b

  8. (8)

    a

  9. (9)

    c

  10. (10)

    d

  11. (11)

    b

  12. (12)

    b

  13. (13)

    c

  14. (14)

    d

  15. (15)

    a

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Leff, S.S., Cassano, M., MacEvoy, J.P. et al. Initial Validation of a Knowledge-Based Measure of Social Information Processing and Anger Management. J Abnorm Child Psychol 38, 1007–1020 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-010-9419-9

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