Multidimensional Health Questionnaire (MHQ)
A 100-item self-report instrument designed to assess twenty distinct psychological dimensions associated with physical health.
Scale Development & Technical Details
Scale Overview
The Multidimensional Health Questionnaire (MHQ) was developed by William E. Snell, Jr. & Georgette Johnson (1997). It is designed to measure Multidimensional health-related psychological tendencies. The scale is intended for use with Adults.
Scale Structure
This instrument consists of 100 items organized into 20 factors/subscales: Health Anxiety, Health Competence, Internal Health Awareness, Health Prevention, Chance Health Locus of Control, Health Preoccupation, Health Assertiveness, Health Expectations, Health Blame, Social Health Consciousness, Health Motivation, Internal Health Locus of Control, Health Pride, Health Satisfaction, Powerful Others Health Locus of Control, Health Value, Physical Health Status, Health Control, Health Depression, Health Responsibility.
| Factor / Subscale | Items | N |
|---|---|---|
| Health Anxiety | 1,21,41,61,81 | 5 |
| Health Competence | 2,22,42,62,82 | 5 |
| Internal Health Awareness | 3,23,43,63,83 | 5 |
| Health Prevention | 4,24,44,64,84 | 5 |
| Chance Health Locus of Control | 5,25,45,65,85 | 5 |
| Health Preoccupation | 6,26,46,66,86 | 5 |
| Health Assertiveness | 7,27,47,67,87 | 5 |
| Health Expectations | 8,28,48,68,88 | 5 |
| Health Blame | 9,29,49,69,89 | 5 |
| Social Health Consciousness | 10,30,50,70,90 | 5 |
| Health Motivation | 11,31,51,71,91 | 5 |
| Internal Health Locus of Control | 12,32,52,72,92 | 5 |
| Health Pride | 13,33,53,73,93 | 5 |
| Health Satisfaction | 14,34,54,74,94 | 5 |
| Powerful Others Health Locus of Control | 15,35,55,75,95 | 5 |
| Health Value | 16,36,56,76,96 | 5 |
| Physical Health Status | 17,37,57,77,97 | 5 |
| Health Control | 18,38,58,78,98 | 5 |
| Health Depression | 19,39,59,79,99 | 5 |
| Health Responsibility | 20,40,60,80,100 | 5 |
Response Format
Respondents rate each item using a custom response format.
Response anchors: 0 = Not at all characteristic of me, 1 = Slightly characteristic of me, 2 = Somewhat characteristic of me, 3 = Moderately characteristic of me, 4 = Very characteristic of me.
The scale includes 7 reverse-scored items to reduce acquiescence bias.
Scoring
Items are scored by subscale, with each subscale sum representing a distinct dimension.
Total scores range from 0 to 20. Interpretation guidelines:
- Very Low: 0 – 4
- Low: 5 – 8
- Average: 9 – 12
- High: 13 – 16
- Very High: 17 – 20
Psychometric Properties
Internal Consistency: The scale has demonstrated good to excellent internal consistency with reported Cronbach’s alpha values of Cronbach's alpha ranges from .68 to .87 across subscales.
Administration
The scale is self-administered and typically takes approximately 20 minutes to complete. It can be administered individually or in group settings. No special training is required for administration.