Sample Psychological Report for Case Example 1: D.S.*

1. Sample Psychological Report for Case Example 1: D.S.* The STAXI-2 C/A was administered to D.S., a 15-year-old Caucasian high school freshman boy, to assess his experience, expression, and control of anger. D.S.’s anger profile was evaluated by comparing his scores on the STAXI-2 C/A scales and subscales with normative data for males between 15 and 18 years of age. D.S.’s percentile rank and T-score profiles are included with this report. D.S.’s STAXI-2 C/A S-Ang percentile rank suggests he did not experience an Elevated level of anger at the time of evaluation. However, his S-Ang/F percentile rank of 66 is near the upper end of the Average range, suggesting above-average feelings of annoyance. D.S.’s general disposition to experience anger was also evaluated. His T-Ang subscale percentiles indicate a significant disparity between his nearly Elevated T-Ang/T score (i.e., 73rd percentile) and his Low T-Ang/R score (i.e., 23rd percentile). A further review of this disparity, using a T-score comparison approach, suggests an important difference, which indicates that D.S. tends to experience anger frequently across situations. However, when he is being evaluated or criticized, he tends to experience anger to a notably lesser extent than do his similarly aged male peers. *This is a real life clinical case from Dr. Brunner’s private practice work

2. Sample Psychological Report for Case Example 1: D.S. (continued) D.S. often tends to internalize and suppress his anger, as indicated by his Very High AX-I score (i.e., 99th percentile) and his substantially lower AX-O score (i.e., 45th percentile). Comparison of D.S.’s T scores (which are better to use than percentiles when directly comparing scores on scales) further confirms that he has a very strong internalizing anger suppression style. Moreover, in terms of anger control, his responses suggest that he tends to put an above-average amount of energy into attempting to control his anger (i.e., AC score in the 65th percentile) as compared to his similarly aged peers. Item-by-item analysis was conducted to assess those items that, by themselves, suggest behavior of concern that is strong enough to warrant a follow-up interview. Items of concern in D.S.’s case include (a) “I am hotheaded,” endorsed as Sometimes (Item 19); (b) “If I do not like someone, I keep it a secret,” endorsed as Sometimes (Item 22); (c) “I hide my anger,” endorsed as Often (Item 25); and (d) “I keep my anger in,” endorsed as Often (Item 28). These items suggest that D.S. may be at risk for exhibiting explosive anger (along with stress-based health problems) due to his internalizing style, leading to accumulations of anger that might be released once a certain threshold is reached.