The Brief Irritability Test (BITe)

Abstract

Elevated levels of irritability have been reported across a range of psychiatric and medical conditions. However, research on the causes, consequences, and treatments of irritability has been hindered by limitations in existing measurement tools. This study aimed to develop a brief, reliable, and valid self-report measure of irritability that is suitable for use among both men and women and that displays minimal overlap with related constructs. First, 63 candidate items were generated, including items from two recent irritability scales. Second, 1,116 participants (877 university students and 229 chronic pain outpatients) completed a survey containing the irritability item pool and standardized measures of related constructs. Item response theory was used to develop a five-item scale (the Brief Irritability Test) with a strong internal structure. All five items displayed minimal conceptual overlap with related constructs (e.g., depression, anger), and test scores displayed negligible gender bias. The Brief Irritability Test shows promise in helping to advance the burgeoning field of irritability research.

Improvements in Stress, Affect, and Irritability Following Brief Use of a Mindfulness-based Smartphone App: A Randomized Controlled Trial

“…Diener et al 2009 ), and irritability (cf. Holtzman et al 2015 ). A 2 (group) × 2 (time) repeated measures ANOVA revealed a main effect of time ( F (1,67) = 63.1, p < 0.001) for the personal vulnerability subscale of the SOS.…”

“…Diener et al 2009 ), and the BITe (cf. Holtzman et al 2015 ). Thus, although previous studies suggest that mindfulness is effective at reducing symptomatology and improving well-being in patient populations (Hofmann et al 2010 ; Reibel et al 2001 ), caution should be applied when attempting to extrapolate the findings reported here to other cohorts.…”

“…The degree to which participants experienced frustration and irritability was measured using the Brief Irritability Test (BITe). The BITe is a new 5-item scale, suitable for use among both males and females, that displays minimal overlap with related constructs (Holtzman et al 2015 ). The respondent uses a 6-point Likert scale (1 = never, 6 = always) to indicate how frequently they identify with each statement.…”

A Measure of Emotional Regulation and Irritability in Children and Adolescents: The Clinical Evaluation of Emotional Regulation–9

“…CEER-9 serves as a tool for quantifying the prevalence of emotional dysregulation in children and youth. Recently, irritability scales have been developed and validated for women ( Born, Koren, Lin, & Steiner, 2008 ) and adults ( Craig, Hietanen, Markova, & Berrios, 2008 ), including one using IRT ( Holtzman, O’Connor, Barata, & Stewart, 2015 ). CEER-9 will allow researchers to better understand the developmental course of emotional regulation.…”

Validity of irritability in Huntington's disease: A scoping review

“…The present results suggest that measures differ in their conceptualisation and measurement of irritability. Although multi-item irritability measures such as the Irritability Questionnaire have been shown to have good reliability and assess various thoughts, feelings and behaviours related to irritability, scales attempting to measure irritability also tap into constructs such as anger and hostility (Holtzman, O'Connor, Barata & Stewart, 2015). This may be problematic in the assessment of irritability since irritability, unlike anger, often occurs in the absence of a direct antecedent and lasts longer, suggesting that they are different constructs which require differentiation in assessments (Beedie et al, 2005;Craig et al…”