Fear of Happiness Scale (FHS)
Measures fear of happiness or aversion to happiness, specifically the belief that happiness may cause bad things to happen.
Scale Development & Technical Details
Scale Overview
The Fear of Happiness Scale (FHS) was developed by Mohsen Joshanloo (2013). It is designed to measure Fear of happiness. The scale is intended for use with Adults.
Scale Structure
This instrument consists of 5 items.
Response Format
Respondents rate each item using a custom response format.
Response anchors: 1 = Strongly disagree, 2 = Somewhat disagree, 3 = A little disagree, 4 = Neither Agree or Disagree, 5 = A little agree, 6 = Somewhat agree, 7 = Strongly agree.
Scoring
Items are summed to produce a total score.
Total scores range from 5 to 35. Interpretation guidelines:
- Low fear of happiness: 5 – 15
- Moderate fear of happiness: 16 – 25
- High fear of happiness: 26 – 35
Psychometric Properties
Internal Consistency: The scale has demonstrated good to excellent internal consistency with reported Cronbach’s alpha values of Acceptable reliability across cultures.
Administration
The scale is self-administered and typically takes approximately 2 minutes to complete. It can be administered individually or in group settings. No special training is required for administration.