The health communication orientations scale: Development and two-country validation of a questionnaire that measures health communication style preferences

Objective: Self-Determination Theory posits that everyone has a basic need for autonomy that needs to be fulfilled to establish autonomous motivation for health behavior (change). Regardless, individual differences exist in health communication style preferences. This paper outlines the development and validation of the Health Communication Orientations Scale (HCOS), a new measure to assess these preferences. Methods: Nationally representative online panels from the US (n = 603) and the Netherlands (n = 737) completed a survey containing the HCOS, established motivational measures, and demographic questions. Results: Factor analyses identified five subscales valid for both populations: HCOS (1) Expert, (2) Others, (3) Self, (4) Oppositional, and (5) Internet. Scores for Expert and Internet were higher in the US sample; Others, Self, and Oppositional were higher in the Dutch sample. Internal reliability for the five factors was high across samples (range 0.84–0.91). Many significant correlations with established measures were observed in both samples indicating the construct validity of the scale. Conclusion: The HCOS subscales have strong psychometric properties. Practice implications: The HCOS represents a novel approach to assessing communication style preferences for general and patient populations. Further investigation in how the HCOS may be used to tailor health messaging is warranted.