Scale Overview
The Assistance Skills Scale – ASS was developed by William B. Hansen & Ralph B. McNeal (1997). It is designed to measure Peer assistance and helping skills. The scale is intended for use with Adolescents and young adults.
Scale Structure
This instrument consists of 5 items.
Response Format
Respondents rate each item using a custom response format.
Response anchors: 0 = No times / Never, 1 = 1 to 2 times / Rarely, 2 = 3 to 4 times / Quite often, 3 = 5 to 6 times / All the time, 4 = 7 or more times, 5 = 10 or more times.
Scoring
Items are summed to produce a total score.
Total scores range from 0 to 25. Interpretation guidelines:
- Low peer assistance activity: 0 – 8
- Moderate peer assistance activity: 9 – 16
- High peer assistance activity: 17 – 25
Psychometric Properties
Internal Consistency: The scale has demonstrated good to excellent internal consistency with reported Cronbach’s alpha values of Not specified.
Administration
The scale is self-administered and typically takes approximately 3 minutes to complete. It can be administered individually or in group settings. No special training is required for administration.