Health Perceptions Questionnaire – HPQ
Measures self-reported general health perceptions across multiple dimensions including current health, prior health, health outlook, resistance to illness, health worry, and sickness orientation.
Scale Development & Technical Details
Scale Overview
The Health Perceptions Questionnaire – HPQ was developed by John E. Ware, Jr. (1976). It is designed to measure General Health Perceptions. The scale is intended for use with Adults.
Scale Structure
This instrument consists of 32 items organized into 8 factors/subscales: Current Health, Prior Health, Health Outlook, Resistance to Illness, Health Worry/Concern, Sickness Orientation, Rejection of Sick Role, Attitude Toward Going to the Doctor.
| Factor / Subscale | Items | N |
|---|---|---|
| Current Health | 1,4,9,12,17,22,26,30,32 | 9 |
| Prior Health | 11,19,28 | 3 |
| Health Outlook | 5,10,18,23 | 4 |
| Resistance to Illness | 3,7,15,29 | 4 |
| Health Worry/Concern | 6,13,20,24 | 4 |
| Sickness Orientation | 16,25 | 2 |
| Rejection of Sick Role | 2,14,21,31 | 4 |
| Attitude Toward Going to the Doctor | 8,27 | 2 |
Response Format
Respondents rate each item using a custom response format.
Response anchors: 1 = Definitely false, 2 = Mostly false, 3 = Don't know, 4 = Mostly true, 5 = Definitely true.
The scale includes 11 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 100. Interpretation guidelines:
- Transformed score where higher scores indicate more favorable health perceptions: 0 – 100
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 0.50 to 0.91 for subscales.
Administration
The scale is self-administered and typically takes approximately 10 minutes to complete. It can be administered individually or in group settings. No special training is required for administration.