State Hostility Scale – SHOS
A self-report instrument designed to measure a person's current level of hostile feelings and angry mood.
Scale Development & Technical Details
Scale Overview
The State Hostility Scale – SHOS was developed by Craig A. Anderson, William E. Deuser, & Kristina M. DeNeve (1995). It is designed to measure State Hostility. The scale is intended for use with Adults.
Scale Structure
This instrument consists of 35 items.
Response Format
Respondents rate each item using a custom response format.
Response anchors: 1 = Strongly Disagree, 2 = Disagree, 3 = Neither Agree Nor Disagree, 4 = Agree, 5 = Strongly Agree.
The scale includes 11 reverse-scored items to reduce acquiescence bias.
Scoring
Items are summed to produce a total score.
Total scores range from 35 to 175. Interpretation guidelines:
- Low Hostility: 35 – 70
- Moderate Hostility: 71 – 120
- High Hostility: 121 – 175
Psychometric Properties
Internal Consistency: The scale has demonstrated good to excellent internal consistency with reported Cronbach’s alpha values of 0.90.
Administration
The scale is self-administered and typically takes approximately 5 minutes to complete. It can be administered individually or in group settings. No special training is required for administration.