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Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine pp 1–3Cite as

Hostility, Measurement of

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Synonyms

Cynical distrust; Cynical hostility; Cynicism

Definition

Hostility is defined by a suspicious, mistrustful attitude and cynical disposition toward others. Considered an enduring personality characteristic, hostility is characterized by cognitive, behavioral, and affective or emotional dimensions.

Description

Measurement of hostility can be based on structured interviews, with interviewer ratings of behavioral dimensions and verbal expressions of hostility based on participants’ actions and responses within the interview setting. The classic example of this method of assessing hostility is the structured interview for Type A behavior, which was developed by Drs. Meyer Friedman and Ray Rosenman, the two cardiologists who first coined the term “Type A” to describe what they perceived to be coronary-prone behavior (e.g., hostility, aggressiveness, time urgency, and a need to be hard-driving) among their heart patients (Friedman and Rosenman 1971). The Type A interview is...

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References and Further Reading

  • Barefoot, J. C., Dodge, K. A., Peterson, B. L., Dahlstrom, W. G., & Williams, R. B., Jr. (1989). The Cook-Medley hostility scale: Item content and ability to predict survival. Psychosomatic Medicine, 51, 46–57.

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  • Buss, A. H., & Durkee, A. (1957). An inventory for assessing different kinds of hostility. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 21, 343–349.

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  • Cook, W. W., & Medley, D. M. (1954). Proposed hostility and pharisaic virtue scales for the MMPI. Journal of Applied Psychology, 38, 414–418.

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  • Davidson, K., & Hall, P. (1995). What does potential for hostility measure? Gender differences in the expression of hostility. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 18, 233–247.

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  • Dembroski, T. M., & Costa, P. T., Jr. (1987). Coronary prone behavior: Components of the type A pattern and hostility. Journal of Personality, 55, 211–235.

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  • Everson, S. A., Kauhanen, J., Kaplan, G. A., Goldberg, D. E., Julkunen, J., Tuomilehto, J., & Salonen, J. T. (1997). Hostility and increased risk of mortality and acute myocardial infarction: The mediating role of behavioral risk factors. American Journal of Epidemiology, 146, 142–152.

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  • Farmer, C. A., & Aman, M. G. (2009). Confirmation of the factor structure and measurement invariance of the Children’s scale of hostility and aggression. Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology, 26, 10–18.

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  • Farmer, C. A., & Aman, M. G. (2010). Psychometric properties of the Children’s Scale of Hostility and Aggression: Reactive/Proactive (C-SHARP). Research in Developmental Disabilities, 31, 270–280.

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  • Friedman, M., & Rosenman, R. H. (1971). Type A behaviour pattern: Its association with coronary heart disease. Annals of Clinical Research, 3, 300–312.

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  • Greenglass, E. R., & Julkunen, J. (1989). Construct validity and sex differences in Cook-Medley hostility. Personality and Individual Differences, 10, 209–218.

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  • Siegel, J. M. (1986). The multidimensional anger inventory. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 191–200.

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  • Wong, J. M., Sin, N. L., & Whooley, M. A. (2014). A comparison of Cook-Medley hostility subscales and mortality in patients with coronary heart disease: Data from the Heart and Soul Study. Psychosomatic Medicine, 76, 311–317.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medicine and Program in Health Disparities Research, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, MN, USA

    Susan A. Everson-Rose, Priya Balaji & Xiaohui Yu

Authors
  1. Susan A. Everson-Rose
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  2. Priya Balaji
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  3. Xiaohui Yu
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Susan A. Everson-Rose .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Miami School of Medicine, Miami, Florida, USA

    Marc Gellman

Section Editor information

  1. University of Minnesota Medical School, Duluth, MN, USA

    Mustafa al’Absi

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Everson-Rose, S.A., Balaji, P., Yu, X. (2018). Hostility, Measurement of. In: Gellman, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6439-6_256-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6439-6_256-2

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-6439-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-6439-6

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