The standard 15-item measure of subordinates' perceptions of sustained hostile verbal and non-verbal supervisor behavior.
| Construct measured | Abusive supervision |
|---|---|
| Developed by | Tepper (2000) |
| Original publication | Tepper, B. J. (2000). Consequences of abusive supervision. Academy of Management Journal, 43(2), 178–190. |
| Number of items | 15 |
| Response format | 5-point frequency scale (1 = I cannot remember him/her ever using this behavior with me, to 5 = He/she uses this behavior very often with me) |
Typically treated as unidimensional; some studies distinguish active-aggressive and passive-aggressive facets, but the single composite dominates the literature.
Alphas are commonly reported at .90 and above.
The founding study linked abusive supervision to justice perceptions, attitudes and psychological distress; a large subsequent literature (including meta-analyses) supports construct and criterion validity across cultures. Item wording describes supervisor behaviors (e.g., ridicule), keeping the construct behavioral rather than evaluative.
Subordinates across industries; both cross-sectional and time-lagged designs, in many countries.
United States. Translations validated in Chinese and several other languages; a 5-item short version is common in survey-space-constrained studies.