Trauma-Exposed Community-Dwelling Women and Men Respond Similarly to the DAR-5 Anger Scale: Factor Structure Invariance and Differential Item Functioning

Abstract

Anger is associated with the development of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and with poor treatment outcomes. The Dimensions of Anger Reactions Scale-5 (DAR-5) has demonstrated preliminary evidence of unitary factor structure and sound psychometric properties. Gender-based differences in psychometric properties have not been explored. The current study examined gender-based factor structure invariance and differential item functioning of the DAR-5 and gender differences in PTSD symptoms as a function of anger severity using a community sample of adults who had been exposed to trauma. Data were collected from 512 trauma-exposed community-dwelling adults (47.9% women). Confirmatory factor analyses, Mantel-Haenszel χ(2) tests and a comparison of characteristic curves, and 2-way analyses of variance, respectively, were used to assess gender-based factor structure invariance, gender-based response patterns to DAR-5 items, and gender differences in PTSD symptoms as a function of anger. The unitary DAR-5 factor structure did not differ between men and women. Significant gender differences in the response pattern to the DAR-5 items were not present. Trauma-exposed individuals with high anger reported greater overall PTSD symptoms (p < .001), regardless of gender. The DAR-5 can be used to assess anger in trauma-exposed individuals without concern of gender biases influencing factor structure or item functioning. Findings further suggested that the established relationship between anger and PTSD severity did not differ by gender.