THE RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY OF THE GERMA N VERSION OF THE COOK-MEDLEY HOSTILITY SCALE

Results on the reliability and validity of the German Version of the C ook-Medley Hostility Scale (Ho Scale) are presented. The Ho Scale has been widely used in US studies as a predictor of health outcomes, and it has been associated with increased risk of coronary heart disease ( CHD). The German version of the scale was administered to 108 inpatien ts at two rehabilitation clinics and to 46 healthy subjects. Test scor es on the Ho Scale and the subscales ''Cynicism'' and ''Paranoid Alien ation'' derived by factor analysis were found to be sufficient. Analys es of variance showed that (sub-)scale scores are associated with year s of schooling and age. In particularly the cynicism subscale differen tiates between healthy subjects and those suffering from CHD. The resu lts are discussed with regard to further research.