Health Orientation Scale – HOS
Measures psychological tendencies, motivations, and attitudes associated with physical health across ten distinct dimensions.
Scale Development & Technical Details
Scale Overview
The Health Orientation Scale – HOS was developed by William E. Snell, Jr., G. Johnson, P. J. Lloyd, & W. Hoover (1991). It is designed to measure Psychological tendencies associated with physical health. The scale is intended for use with Adults.
Scale Structure
This instrument consists of 50 items organized into 10 factors/subscales: Personal Health Consciousness, Health Image Concern, Health Anxiety, Health-Esteem and Confidence, Motivation to Avoid Unhealthiness, Motivation for Healthiness, Health Internal Control, Health External Control, Health Expectations, Health Status.
| Factor / Subscale | Items | N |
|---|---|---|
| Personal Health Consciousness | 1,11,21,31,41 | 5 |
| Health Image Concern | 2,12,22,32,42 | 5 |
| Health Anxiety | 3,13,23,33,43 | 5 |
| Health-Esteem and Confidence | 4,14,24,34,44 | 5 |
| Motivation to Avoid Unhealthiness | 5,15,25,35,45 | 5 |
| Motivation for Healthiness | 6,16,26,36,46 | 5 |
| Health Internal Control | 7,17,27,37,47 | 5 |
| Health External Control | 8,18,28,38,48 | 5 |
| Health Expectations | 9,19,29,39,49 | 5 |
| Health Status | 10,20,30,40,50 | 5 |
Response Format
Respondents rate each item using a custom response format.
Response anchors: 0 = Not at all characteristic of me, 1 = Slightly characteristic of me, 2 = Somewhat characteristic of me, 3 = Moderately characteristic of me, 4 = Very characteristic of me.
The scale includes 7 reverse-scored items to reduce acquiescence bias.
Scoring
Items are scored by subscale, with each subscale sum representing a distinct dimension.
Total scores range from 0 to 20. Interpretation guidelines:
- Low characteristic: 0 – 6
- Moderate characteristic: 7 – 13
- High characteristic: 14 – 20
Psychometric Properties
Internal Consistency: The scale has demonstrated good to excellent internal consistency with reported Cronbach’s alpha values of Not specified in source text.
Administration
The scale is self-administered and typically takes approximately 10 minutes to complete. It can be administered individually or in group settings. No special training is required for administration.