Short Health Anxiety Inventory (HAI-18)
18 items measuring health anxiety
Assesses health anxiety and fear of illness. 18 items.
What Is Health Anxiety?
Health anxiety is when normal worries about your health cross into territory where they start to interfere. You check symptoms, you worry about normal bodily sensations, and reassurance from doctors doesn't stick.
The HAI-18 captures this kind of worry in 18 questions — and it separates health anxiety from general anxiety, which is useful because the two often look the same.
Scoring
Two subscales:
- Main scale (14 items): general health anxiety (worry about illness, attention to bodily changes, fear of health threats)
- Negative consequences (4 items): beliefs about what it would mean if you got seriously ill
Psychometrics
- alpha = .89--.96 (main scale), .80--.89 (negative consequences)
- Discriminates between hypochondriasis and other anxiety disorders
- Correlates moderately with general anxiety measures but captures something distinct
Result Interpretation
After completing the 18 questions, you'll receive an immediate, detailed report with:
- Your score — calculated automatically based on your responses
- Score interpretation — what your score means in practical terms
- Context — how your results compare to general population norms where available
All results are displayed on screen. No account or login needed.