Abusive Supervision Scale

The Abusive Supervision Scale measures subordinates' perceptions of the extent to which their supervisors engage in sustained displays of hostile verbal and nonverbal behaviors, excluding physical contact. Bennett Tepper introduced both the construct and the scale in his 2000 Academy of Management Journal study, framing abusive supervision through justice theory and showing that subordinates who perceived more abuse were more likely to quit and, if they stayed, suffered lower satisfaction and commitment, greater work-family conflict, and more psychological distress. The scale captures abuse as a perceived, subjective phenomenon rather than as an objectively verified act, and treats it as a sustained pattern rather than an isolated incident. Tepper's 2007 Journal of Management review synthesized the rapidly growing literature into an integrative model of antecedents, consequences, and moderators. The measure has become the foundation of destructive-leadership research.