Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A)
Document the severity of psychic and somatic anxiety symptoms and monitor change
Reference information · Questionnaire
- Last content update
- 2026-10-26
- Clinical review
- Not independently reviewed
- Source jurisdiction
- See individual sources
- Coverage
- Questionnaire
| Field | Instrument context |
|---|---|
| Version | English14-item clinician form hosted by University of Florida and linked by American Thoracic Society;0–4 response coding |
| Population | Clinical assessment of anxiety symptoms; selected workflow for adult patients |
| Respondent | Trained clinician interview and observation |
| Recall period | Specify and document a consistent assessment interval |
| Purpose | Document the severity of psychic and somatic anxiety symptoms and monitor change |
A total does not establish individual item responses.
Below is a list of phrases that describe certain feeling that people have. Rate the patients by finding the answer which best describes the extent to which he/she has these conditions. Select one of the five responses for each of the fourteen questions. 0=Not present,1=Mild,2=Moderate,3=Severe,4=Very severe. This is a clinician rating scale. Establish symptoms through clinical interview and use the final item for behavior observed at interview. The source does not provide standardized interview probes.
Hamilton M (1959). The assessment of anxiety states by rating. British Journal of Medical Psychology32:50–55. HAM-A public-domain status stated in the University of Florida-hosted form and American Thoracic Society record.
Responses stay in this page’s memory. Reset or leave the page to clear them. No patient identifiers are collected.
Interpretation & limitations
- Sum all14 ratings; range0–56. Higher totals indicate more anxiety symptom burden within this version.
- Use clinical context and change over time. No universal diagnostic threshold is applied. The source’s summary categories leave some scores undefined, so no incomplete category scheme is implemented.
- Somatic symptoms can overlap with medical illness, medication effects and depression. A high total does not by itself establish an anxiety disorder.
- All14 observations are required before a total is calculated. Missing responses are not zero.
- No automatic diagnosis, medication change or declaration of safety.
References · 2
- Full14-item form, response anchors, scoring and public-domain statement
- American Thoracic Society instrument record and public-domain availability · The exact University of Florida-hosted source form explicitly states that HAM-A is in the public domain. The American Thoracic Society instrument record also identifies its availability as public domain and links this form. Preserve Hamilton attribution and source-specific anchors.