International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology The Utility of the STAXI The Utility of the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory With Offenders Pamela F. Foley Bruce W. Hartman Adriana B. Dunn John E. Smith David M. Goldberg Abstract: Self-report instruments can provide useful information as part of a thorough clini- cal assessment. However, their use in forensic settings can be problematic. The State-Trait AngerExpressionInventory(STAXI)hasrecentlybeenproposedasaneffectiveinstrumentfor screening and outcome measurement in anger management programs. This study evaluated the effectiveness of this instrument in a sample of both voluntary and court-ordered anger-management clients, all of whom were determined through diagnostic interviews to havesignificantangerproblems.Contrarytofindingsinnonforensicsamples,theSTAXITrait Anger scale identified only about half of the participants as having anger-management prob- lemssevereenoughtorequireintervention.Supplementalanalysiswithtwoadditionalscales did not significantly improve sensitivity. In addition to thorough diagnostic interviewing, forensic use of the STAXI (like similar assessment methods) may require additional validity scales to detect denial or socially desirable response patterns. Matching offenders’needs to appropriate treatment programs has become a nec- essary task as psychological resources decrease (see Gacono, 2002). Self-report instruments, such as the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) (Beck, Steer, & Brown, 1996), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) (Beck, Epstein, Brown, & Steer, 1988),andtheSymptomChecklist-90-R(SCL-90-R)(Derogatis,1994)areeasily administered and have been found to be useful with nonforensic populations. These instruments also provide an efficient means of tracking treatment progress for a variety of symptoms. The State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory (STAXI) (Spielberger, 1996) is a self-report instrument that is gaining increased accep- tance as a tool for assessment of individuals with anger problems. NOTE: This study was conducted as part of the first author’s doctoral dissertation (P. F. Foley, 1999), An Investigation of the Clinical Utility of the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory, UMI Proquest Digital Dissertations, AAT 9961749), and as part of an ongoing clinical study of the effectiveness of a group-based anger-management intervention. Correspondence concerning this article should be ad- dressedtoPamelaF.Foley,Ph.D.,DepartmentofProfessionalPsychologyandFamilyTherapy,Seton Hall University, South Orange, New Jersey 07079. E-mail may be sent to foleypam@shu.edu. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 46(3), 2002 364-378  2002 Sage Publications 364