The linear stability of thin magnetic field reversals is analyzed using a hybrid approach. The ion resonant response to electromagnetic perturbations is calculated from the kinetic Vlasov equation, whereas the electron response is derived from fluid equations using a suitably adapted electron pressure model. Effects of off-diagonal components of the perturbed pressure tensor on the compressional stabilization are taken into account. The results are presented with emphasis on a comparison with the linear fully kinetic theory and hybrid simulations of the same model (Hesse et al., this issue). We find the stability of perturbations with gradient scales greater than the maximum electron Larmor radius. The transition to instability with the increase of the electron mass is illustrated. ¿ American Geophysical Union 1995