Abstract

The present study reports on the third stage of the adaptation of the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory (STAXI: Spielberger, 1988) to measure the experience, expression and control of anger in the Korean culture. The Korean STAXI-K was administered to 557 adults, whose blood pressure and personal preferences for mode of anger expression were also assessed. The internal consistency of the STAXI-K scales were satisfactory (.70 or higher, as measured by Cronbach's alpha); test-retest reliabilities for the ST AXI-K trait scales calculated for a four week period were also stable. Factor analyses of responses to the ST AXI-K items revealed a factor structure similar to the original English ST AXI, but suggested substituting several anger-in items that were more suitable for the Korean culture. Small but significant positive correlations (r -.23 to .25) between the STAXI-K Anger-in and Anger-out scales indicated that these scales were not orthogonal in the Korean culture as they were for American students and adults. Blood pressure was found to be lower for participants whose preferred mode of anger expression matched their STAXI-K Anger-in and Anger-out scores, and was higher when mode of expression and anger expression preference were mismatched.