BPAQ

The Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire is a 29-item self-report measure of trait aggression, published in 1992. It yields four subscales: physical aggression, verbal aggression, anger, and hostility.

Physical and verbal aggression reflect readiness to act aggressively; anger captures emotional irritability; hostility covers resentment and suspicion. They correlate but are distinct — someone can score high on anger yet low on physical aggression.

No. The BPAQ measures self-reported dispositional tendencies, not behavior, and certainly not violence. Scores are influenced by mood and recent events, and high scores are common in the general population on some subscales.

Trait aggression is fairly stable but not fixed — anger and hostility respond to life circumstances, stress, and skills training. If aggression is creating problems for you, evidence-based anger-management approaches exist.