The Hospital Adjustment Scale: Research and Clinical Applications

Abstract

The Hospital Adjustment Scale (HAS) is a 90-item behavior-rating scale designed for the assessment of the over-all level of psychological functioning, irrespective of psychiatric symptomatology, of hospitalized psychiatric patients. This paper reviews the research which has been done on and with the scale since its publication in 1953 and indicates the uses and limitations of the scale based on 15 yr. experience with it. It is concluded that adequate reliability and validity have been demonstrated to justify the scale's continued use as a measure of change in hospitalized psychiatric patients.

Subprofessional therapists' use of reinforcement versus traditional psychotherapeutic techniques with schizophrenics.

“…Before Ss were assigned to groups, attendants on the ward rated each S on the Hospital Adjustment Scale (McReynolds, 1968;McReynolds & Ferguson, 1946). On the basis of overall scores, 22 matched pairs were selected, with one member of each pair randomly assigned to each group.…”

Tension and opportunity in post-World War II American psychology.

“…In an era rich in the development of assessment tools, McReynolds was an expert. He developed and employed sophisticated assessment instruments in his research on motivation and the role of cognitive processes in schizophrenia (Baker & Pickren, 2007;McReynolds, 1965McReynolds, , 1968. He and other young psychologists followed an already well-worn path of paper-and-pencil tests used to assess a range of abilities, traits, and conditions (e.g., Allport, 1927Allport, , 1928Hathaway & McKinley, 1943;Lorr, 1954).…”