Clinician or parent? Hand your device over with the score hidden, or send the test to their phone.
14 questions · about 3–5 minutes
For each one, pick the answer that fits you best over the past week. There are no right or wrong answers.
Each question names a group of symptoms. Rate how much that group as a whole has troubled you.
Your answers stay on this device. Nothing is saved or sent unless you choose to email the results. This screening tool is for educational and self-awareness purposes only. It is not a diagnosis. Chest pain, trouble breathing or fainting need a doctor first, since anxiety is not the only cause. If you are in crisis, call or text 988.
- Questions
- 14
- Time
- 3–5 min
- Looks back over
- The past week
- Score range
- 0–56
- Cost
- Free
What the HAM-A measures
- Psychic anxiety: worry, tension, fears, sleep, concentration and low mood (questions 1 to 6)
- Somatic anxiety: muscles, senses, heart, breathing, stomach, bladder and the nervous system (questions 7 to 13)
- Visible restlessness: fidgeting, trembling and strain (question 14)
About the HAM-A
The HAM-A was published by Max Hamilton in 1959, a year before his better-known depression scale, and is one of the first rating scales for anxiety. It remains a standard outcome measure in anxiety research and drug trials.
It covers 14 groups of symptoms, each rated from 0 (not present) to 4 (very severe), for a total from 0 to 56. Seven groups are psychic (worry, tension, fears, sleep, concentration, low mood) and seven are somatic (muscles, senses, heart, breathing, stomach, bladder and the autonomic nervous system), which makes it more sensitive to the physical side of anxiety than most questionnaires.
Note: This is a self-report adaptation. The HAM-A was designed for a trained clinician to rate after an interview, and the last item is meant to be the clinician's observation of the person. Self-rated scores are an estimate, and the severity ranges here follow a 2010 study by Matza and colleagues that set them for clinician ratings.
How the HAM-A is scored
- Every question is answered on the same scale, from "Not present" (0 points) to "Very severe" (4 points).
- The answers are added together for a total from 0 to 56.
- For example, answering "Mild" to all 14 questions gives 1 × 14 = 14, which falls in the Mild anxiety range.
HAM-A score ranges
The ranges this quiz uses to label a score. They describe where a score falls, not a diagnosis.
| Result | Score |
|---|---|
| No or minimal anxiety | 0–7 |
| Mild anxiety | 8–14 |
| Moderate anxiety | 15–23 |
| Severe anxiety | 24–56 |
How to read the results
- It is a snapshot, not a diagnosis. The score describes the past week, and a label only says where that falls compared with the people the questionnaire was tested on. A word like "mild" does not mean a mild disorder.
- Look at the answers, not only the total. Which questions scored highest often says more about what to work on than the number does.
- Compare with yourself over time. Taking it again in a few weeks, or after starting therapy, shows whether things are moving. Compare each score with your own earlier one, not with someone else's.
- Talk it through. A clinician will ask what no questionnaire can: how long it has been like this, what else is going on, and how much it gets in the way.
- It does not ask about suicide. The HAM-A has no question about thoughts of death or self-harm, so a clinician should ask directly. If you are having those thoughts, call or text 988.
The HAM-A compared with similar tests
| Test | Screens for | Questions | Looks back over | Asks about suicide |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PHQ-9 | Depression | 9 | The past two weeks | Yes |
| EPDS | Depression in pregnancy and after birth | 10 | The past seven days | Yes |
| CESD-R | Depression, as a community screen | 20 | The past two weeks | Yes |
| HAM-D | Depression, including physical symptoms | 17 | The past week | Yes |
| MADRS | Depression, and how it changes in treatment | 10 | The past week | Yes |
| GAD-7 | Generalized anxiety | 7 | The past two weeks | No |
| OCI-R | Obsessions and compulsions | 18 | The past month | No |
| HAM-A (this page) | Anxiety, including physical symptoms | 14 | The past week | No |
| DASS-21 | Depression, anxiety and stress, scored separately | 21 | The past week | No |
Using the HAM-A with clients
- Baseline, then repeat. Give it at intake, then at regular intervals, and compare each score with the client's own earlier ones to see whether treatment is working.
- Hand to client. Give it on your own device in session. The questions fill the screen with nothing else on it, and the scores stay hidden until you take the device back and press Show results.
- Send to someone. Send a link before the session by text or email. Tick "Ask for a copy of their results" and their results page offers to email you their score. They decide whether to send it. Your address travels in the link itself and never reaches our servers.
- Copy summary and Print. The results screen copies a one-line summary for the session note, or prints the results on their own.
- Nothing is stored. Answers stay in the browser. Results leave it only when someone chooses to email them, and that email is not kept.
Diagnosis codes often documented for this concern
For reference only. A screening score is not a diagnosis, and none of these follows from a score on its own.
Where to go from here
- Anxiety Therapy at Crown Counseling · in Brooklyn and online across New York
- Free EMDR bilateral stimulation tools · for calming between sessions, or for therapists to run remotely
- Free resources for therapists
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the HAM-A?+
The Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale is a 14-item measure of anxiety severity published by Max Hamilton in 1959. Each item is rated 0 to 4, for a total from 0 to 56. It is widely used in research and clinical trials.
What is a high HAM-A score?+
A study by Matza and colleagues (2010) suggested 0 to 7 for no or minimal anxiety, 8 to 14 mild, 15 to 23 moderate, and 24 or more severe. Those ranges were set for clinician ratings, so a self-rated score is an estimate.
How is the HAM-A different from the GAD-7?+
The GAD-7 is a seven-question screen built around worry and generalized anxiety. The HAM-A is longer and rates physical symptoms in detail, so it is more often used to measure severity and change in treatment than to screen.
Can I take the HAM-A on my own?+
This page offers a self-report version, which is a reasonable estimate. The original is rated by a clinician after an interview, which a therapist can do with you.
Are my responses stored?+
No. All responses remain completely private and local to your browser. No data is collected, stored, or transmitted to any server.
References
- Hamilton M. The assessment of anxiety states by rating. Br J Med Psychol. 1959;32(1):50-55.
- Matza LS, Morlock R, Sexton C, Malley K, Feltner D. Identifying HAM-A cutoffs for mild, moderate, and severe generalized anxiety disorder. Int J Methods Psychiatr Res. 2010;19(4):223-232.
- Maier W, Buller R, Philipp M, Heuser I. The Hamilton Anxiety Scale: reliability, validity and sensitivity to change in anxiety and depressive disorders. J Affect Disord. 1988;14(1):61-68.