Cook-Medley hostility, anger, and the Type A behavior pattern in Finland

According to research, hostility is a reliable predictor of coronary heart disease. Cook-Medley-defined hostility in particular has been seen as a significant precursor of coronary disease. It is important to specify the kind of hostility measured by the Cook-Medley scale. The present study examined the construct validity of the Cook-Medley scale for a sample of 219 university students in Finland, a country with a high incidence of coronary heart disease. The results supported the interpretation of the Cook-Medley scale primarily as a measure of cynicism and distrust. On the basis of our previous research, a subscale of the Cook-Medley scale was formed. This 9-item scale, a measure of Cynical Distrust, correlated positively with cynicism and negatively with trust. Moreover, the over-all pattern of correlations between the new 9-item factor, cynical distrust, and other variables assessing hostility, anger, and trust, was similar to the one obtained for our previous sample of students. It is suggested that this new 9-item scale is a shorter and more specific alternative to the longer Cook-Medley scale as a measure of cynical distrust.