Oxford Happiness Questionnaire – OHQ
A 29-item self-report instrument developed to measure personal happiness and psychological well-being.
Scale Development & Technical Details
Scale Overview
The Oxford Happiness Questionnaire – OHQ was developed by Peter Hills & Michael Argyle (2002). It is designed to measure Psychological Well-being. The scale is intended for use with Adults.
Scale Structure
This instrument consists of 29 items.
Response Format
Respondents rate each item using a custom response format.
Response anchors: 1 = strongly disagree, 2 = moderately disagree, 3 = slightly disagree, 4 = slightly agree, 5 = moderately agree, 6 = strongly agree.
The scale includes 12 reverse-scored items to reduce acquiescence bias.
Scoring
Item scores are averaged to produce a mean score.
Total scores range from 1 to 6. Interpretation guidelines:
- Not happy: 1 – 2
- Somewhat unhappy: 2 – 3
- Neutral or mildly happy: 3 – 4
- Pretty happy: 4 – 5
- Very happy: 5 – 6
Psychometric Properties
Internal Consistency: The scale has demonstrated good to excellent internal consistency with reported Cronbach’s alpha values of 0.91.
Administration
The scale is self-administered and typically takes approximately 8 minutes to complete. It can be administered individually or in group settings. No special training is required for administration.