Dimensions of hostility in Japanese undergraduate students

Japanese undergraduate students (N = 512) completed the Japanese versions of 4 hostility questionnaires: Aggression Questionnaire (Ando et al., 1999); State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory (Suzuki & Haruki, 1994); Müller Anger Coping Questionnaire (Otake et al., 2000); and Cynicism Questionnaire (Izawa & Nomura, 2004). Dimensions of hostility, determined by factor analysis for the 12 subscales of the 4 questionnaires, revealed a 4-factor solution: Expressive Hostility, Inhibitive Hostility, Assertiveness, and Hostile Cognition. Prior studies with Western participants had suggested a 2-factor solution of Expression and Experience dimensions of hostility. However, our results forcing a 2-factor solution showed a different pattern: The first factor included Expressive Hostility and Hostile Cognition, and the second factor included Inhibitive Hostility. These results indicate that the dimensions of hostility in Japanese students differed from those in American and European participants. This may be related to characteristics of Japanese society that emphasize cooperative behavior and not expressing angry emotions.