Date of Award

2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Psychology (Ph.D.)

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Raymond A. DiGiuseppe

Second Advisor

Melissa K. Peckins

Third Advisor

Lauren J. Moskowitz

Abstract

This study identified youth subgroups with distinct dysfunctional anger patterns using an exploratory latent profile analysis (LPA) procedure. The analytic samples were derived from an archival sample of 10- to 17-year-olds (N = 1,348) who completed the Anger Regulation and Expression Scale (ARES; DiGiuseppe & Tafrate, 2011), a narrowband standardized measure of anger and aggression in youth. The study aimed to (a) verify whether previously identified clinical and subclinical Subjective, Expressive, and Combined Anger Types found in adult and youth samples would manifest in this dataset and (b) identify subtypes within these categories to clarify internalized and externalized anger patterns to inform differential diagnosis and treatment planning for youth. LPA proceeded in three phases. Included participants met the threshold criteria of at least one elevated indicator score (T-scores ≥ 65) and were drawn from clinical and nonclinical subgroups. A preliminary LPA in Phase 1 (N = 681) used the 17 lowest-order ARES scales and subscales, mirroring Romero’s (2020) LPA with indicators deriving from the Anger Disorders Scale (DiGiuseppe & Tafrate, 2004), an adult analog of the ARES. Phase 2 involved refining indicators, including removal of low-utility variables and replacement of highly correlated scales with a higher-order composite, yielding 14 final indicators reflecting the ARES’ Extent of Anger, Internalizing Anger, and Externalizing Clusters. In Phase 3, inclusion and exclusion criteria were reapplied to the revised indicator set, resulting in a reduced yet robust final analytic sample (N = 646). Models with one to nine profiles were sequentially estimated. Stepwise model enumeration balanced quantitative metrics (e.g., fit indices, classification diagnostics, smallest profile size) and the substantive meaningfulness of the emergent profiles. In alignment with the study hypotheses, the selected eight-profile solution yielded seven clinical and subclinical subtypes reflecting the three broad anger types and one nonclinical subtype: one clinical Subjective Anger Subtype, one clinical and two subclinical Expressive Anger Subtypes, and three clinical Combined Anger Subtypes emerged. Each profile is described in detail, with attention to areas of convergence with the adult subtypes identified by Romero (2020). Study limitations and implications for practice are examined.

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